Liberia responds to Trump's native language gaffe
Monrovia, Liberia - Liberia's president was "honored" to meet US counterpart Donald Trump this week and wasn't offended by Trump's comment about his fluency in English – his mother tongue – Liberia's foreign minister said on Friday.
The US president's gaffe has even inspired a catchy tribute song in the west African country, Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow Nyanti told AFP on Friday evening.
Trump praised President Joseph Boakai on Wednesday on his English-speaking skills, apparently unaware that English is the official language of Liberia.
Responding to remarks Boakai made at a White House mini-summit alongside the presidents of five mineral-rich, French-speaking countries in West Africa, the US leader said: "Such good English... Where were you educated?"
Boakai – who, like most Liberians, speaks English as a first language – laughed uncomfortably and replied he had been educated in his home country.
"We were honored by the White House's invitation to President Boakai for a meeting with President Trump and fellow African leaders," Nyanti said. "No offense was taken."
She said Liberia was keen to strengthen ties with the US, "built on mutual respect".
Liberia is the oldest republic in sub-Saharan Africa. It was founded in 1822 when the American Colonization Society, funded by the US Congress and slaveholders, began sending emancipated slaves to its shores.
Thousands of "Americo-Liberian" settlers followed. They declared independence in 1847 and set up a government to rule over the native African majority.
English is the official language and the most widely used throughout the country.
Trump's remarks on Liberian president's English draws mixed response
In response to Trump's faux pas, singer and former cultural ambassador Queen Juli Endee penned a song in tribute to Boakai.
"We salute JNB, our black president, Beautiful English King of Africa," she and her band sing in a video widely shared on social media.
The clip shows them waving US flags and wearing T-shirts bearing the images of Boakai and Trump.
Liberians, meanwhile, voiced mixed reactions.
Shadrach Johnson, unemployed, welcomed the fact Boakai had been among the small number of African leaders invited to the summit.
"He went there and spoke on behalf of the Liberian people. It's progress," he told AFP.
But street trader Patience Allison said Trump had insulted her head of state and sought to provoke.
"For him to ask that question, it is almost like you are making fun... He was really making fun of our president," she said.
Cover photo: Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP