Overview

• A State Dining Room luncheon clip shows President Trump asking Liberian President Joseph Boakai where he learned to speak such “beautiful English.”
• The remark underscored an apparent unawareness that English has been Liberia’s official language since its 1847 independence.
• The video spread rapidly online, prompting widespread commentary and ridicule about diplomatic cultural literacy.
• Liberia’s government emphasized that the summit’s main agenda focused on economic development and regional security rather than language issues.
• The July 9 meeting included leaders from Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Senegal to advance infrastructure projects and democratic governance.