During a White House luncheon with African leaders on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump made an awkward remark when he complimented Liberian President Joseph Boakai on his English proficiency—unaware that English is Liberia’s official language.
After Boakai, a business graduate, delivered brief remarks, Trump inquired, “Thank you, and such good English… Where did you learn to speak so beautifully? Where were you educated?” Boakai, who—like most Liberians—speaks English as a first language, indicated he had been educated in his home country. Though his expression was difficult to read as he faced away from the media, his terse, mumbled reply suggested discomfort.
Undeterred, Trump continued, “It’s beautiful English. I have people at this table who can’t speak nearly as well,” seemingly overlooking that several other West African leaders present spoke French as their countries’ official languages.
Liberia’s historical ties to the U.S. date back to the 1820s, when the American Colonization Society, funded by Congress and slaveholders, began resettling freed slaves there. Thousands of Americo-Liberian settlers later established an independent government in 1847, ruling over the indigenous majority. While Liberia has numerous indigenous languages and creole dialects, English remains its official and most widely spoken language.
Boakai, who is literate in Mendi and Kissi, primarily communicates in English—Liberia’s lingua franca—making Trump’s praise both misplaced and revealing.