July 10, 2025
Donald Trump is under fire after complimenting the President of Liberia’s “good English.”
President Donald Trump sparked backlash once again after complimenting the President of Liberia on speaking “such good English,” despite English being the country’s official language.
Trump made the remark during a July 9 White House meeting with leaders from several African nations, NBC News reported. After Liberian President Joseph Boakai spoke briefly, Trump interrupted to praise his English, despite it being Liberia’s official language.
“Well, thank you,” Trump said after Boakai spoke. “And such good English, that’s beautiful. Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?”
“Where were you educated? Where? In Liberia? Well, that’s very interesting. It’s beautiful English,” he added. “I have people at this table can’t speak nearly as well.”
After a clip of the exchange surfaced online, Trump faced widespread criticism, with many accusing him of exhibiting a long-standing form of racism and microaggression.
“This is sooooo racist…. Why does he think so low of Africans????” one viewer wrote.
“He’s culturally insensitive and embarrassing,” added someone else.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly has responded to the backlash and defended Trump’s remarks as “a heartfelt compliment during a meeting that marked a historic moment for U.S.-Africa relations.”
The history of English being Liberia’s official language is rooted in the country’s unique and complex history. Many Liberians are descendants of freed African American slaves who were relocated to West Africa in the early 19th century. The country’s capital, Monrovia, was named after James Monroe, the fifth U.S. president, a slaveholder, and a supporter of efforts to resettle freed Black Americans abroad.
The West African country was established during a time when both American abolitionists and slaveholders pushed for the resettlement of free Black people amid rising debates over their racial integration in the U.S. In the 1820s, the American Colonization Society purchased land along Africa’s west coast and began transporting free African Americans to what would become Liberia.
By 1847, Liberia adopted a Constitution modeled after that of the United States and declared its independence from American colonial rule. Today, Liberia stands as Africa’s oldest modern republic and the world’s second-oldest Black-led republic, following Haiti, which gained independence in 1804 after a successful revolt against French colonial rule.
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