Liberia

Trump administration is seeking to deport Abrego Garcia to West African country, in move decried by lawyers.

A federal judge in the United States has requested assurances from the administration of President Donald Trump that officials will not deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia while an injunction barring his deportation remains in place.

The demand from District Judge Paula Xinis on Monday comes after US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) filed a notice last week of a plan to deport Abrego Garcia to the West African nation of Liberia.

She asked why the government is not instead deporting Abrego Garcia to Costa Rica, a Salvadoran man living in the United States, where he has said he is willing to go because the government there has promised he would be welcomed as a legal immigrant and not re-deported to El Salvador.

“Any insight you can shed on why we’re continuing this hearing when you could deport him to a third country tomorrow?” Xinis asked government lawyers.

Abrego Garcia was wrongfully deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration March, in violation of a 2019 court order barring him from being sent back to his homeland.

He was returned to the US under a judge’s order in June, but swiftly charged with human smuggling in Tennessee. He is seeking dismissal of that case.

Administration officials have repeatedly accused Abrego Garcia of being a member of the MS-13 gang, a claim that has never been proven in court.

Abrego Garcia’s lawyers have said he is being targeted for political retribution.

Responding to the plan to deport Abrego Garcia to Liberia, lawyer Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg called the move “cruel and unconstitutional”. He noted that Abrego Garcia has no ties to the country.

The Trump administration has repeatedly sought to deport individuals unable to be sent to their homelands to so-called third countries. Advocacy groups have argued that the deportations violate due process rights and that immigrants are being sent to countries with long histories of human rights violations.

Abrego Garcia has separately applied for asylum in the US.

BALTIMORE — The U.S. government plans to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia and could do so as early as Oct. 31, according to a Friday court filing.

The Salvadoran national’s case has become a magnet for opposition to President Trump’s immigration crackdown since he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, in violation of a settlement agreement.

He was returned to the U.S. in June after the U.S. Supreme Court said the administration had to work to bring him back. Since he cannot be re-deported to El Salvador, the U.S. government has been seeking to deport him to various African countries.

A federal judge in Maryland had previously barred his immediate deportation. Abrego Garcia’s lawsuit there claims the Trump administration is illegally using the deportation process to punish him for its embarrassment over his mistaken deportation.

A Friday court filing from the Department of Homeland Security says that “Liberia is a thriving democracy and one of the United States’s closest partners on the African continent.” Its national language is English, its constitution “provides robust protections for human rights,” and Liberia is “committed to the humane treatment of refugees,” the filing asserts. It concludes that Abrego Garcia could be deported as soon as Friday.

The court filing assessment is in contrast to a U.S. State Department report last year that detailed a human rights record in Liberia including extrajudicial killings, torture and serious restrictions on press freedom.

“After failed attempts with Uganda, Eswatini, and Ghana, ICE now seeks to deport our client, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, to Liberia, a country with which he has no connection, thousands of miles from his family and home in Maryland,” a statement from attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg reads. “Costa Rica stands ready to accept him as a refugee, a viable and lawful option. Yet the government has chosen a course calculated to inflict maximum hardship. These actions are punitive, cruel, and unconstitutional.”

Abrego Garcia has an American wife and child and has lived in Maryland for years. He immigrated to the U.S. illegally as a teenager, but in 2019 an immigration judge granted him protection from being deported back to El Salvador, where he faces a “well-founded fear” of violence from a gang that targeted his family, according to court filings. In a separate action in immigration court, Abrego Garcia has applied for asylum in the United States.

Additionally, Abrego Garcia is facing criminal charges in federal court in Tennessee, where he has pleaded not guilty to human smuggling. He has filed a motion to dismiss the charges, claiming the prosecution is vindictive.

Oct. 24 (UPI) — The Department of Justice filed a motion Friday to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia, a country to which he has no ties.

The Department of Homeland Security has received “diplomatic assurances regarding the treatment of third-country individuals removed to Liberia from the United States and are making the final necessary arrangements for [Abrego Garcia’s] removal,” the filing said.

DHS expects “to be able to effectuate removal as soon as Oct. 31.”

Abrego Garcia, a Baltimore resident, is a native of El Salvador. He was accidentally deported to a Salvadoran prison in March against a court order. In recent months, DHS has been looking for a new place to send him. It’s tried Uganda, Eswatini and Ghana, but those countries refused.

But an immigration judge ordered that Abrego Garcia not be removed from the United States.

Abrego Garcia’s attorney said the government “has chosen yet another path that feels designed to inflict maximum hardship.”

“Having struck out with Uganda, Eswatini and Ghana, ICE now seeks to deport our client Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia — a country with which he has no connection, thousands of miles from his family and home in Maryland,” Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg told ABC News. “Costa Rica has agreed to accept him as a refugee, and remains a viable and lawful option.”

The DOJ said Liberia is “a thriving democracy” and is “committed to the humane treatment of refugees.”

Abrego Garcia has been accused of being a gang member and of human trafficking, stemming from a 2002 traffic stop in Tennessee. Police stopped the vehicle in Tennessee and found several Latino men with no identification. Charges for that case were filed this year. He still awaits trial.

On Oct. 4, a federal judge in Tennessee granted a motion by Abrego Garcia’s defense team that seeks a hearing for vindictive prosecution.

“The timing of Abrego’s indictment suggests a realistic likelihood that senior DOJ and [Homeland Security] officials may have induced Acting U.S. Attorney [Robert] McGuire (albeit unknowingly) to criminally charge Abrego in retaliation for his Maryland lawsuit,” U.S. District Court for Middle Tennessee Judge Waverly Crenshaw Jr. wrote.

The Maryland lawsuit was Garcia’s successful legal challenge in a federal court in which he showed DHS made a mistake when it deported him to El Salvador.

Federal officials also contend Abrego Garcia was a member of the Salvadoran MS-13 gang, though he and his family deny it. They argue that Abrego Garcia fled El Salvador because of gang violence.

On July 9, United States President Donald Trump opened a three-day mini summit at the White House with the leaders of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal – by subjecting his distinguished guests to a carefully staged public humiliation.

This was not the plan – or at least, not the part the public was meant to see.

A White House official claimed on July 3 that “President Trump believes that African countries offer incredible commercial opportunities which benefit both the American people and our African partners.”

Whether by coincidence or calculated design, the meeting took place on the same day the Trump administration escalated its trade war, slapping new tariffs on eight countries, including the North African nations of Libya and Algeria. It was a telling contrast: Even as Trump claimed to be “strengthening ties with Africa”, his administration was penalising African nations. The optics revealed the incoherence – or perhaps the honesty – of Trump’s Africa policy, where partnership is conditional and often indistinguishable from punishment.

Trump opened the summit with a four-minute speech in which he claimed the five invited leaders were representing the entire African continent. Never mind that their countries barely register in US-Africa trade figures; what mattered was the gold, oil, and minerals buried beneath their soil. He thanked “these great leaders… all from very vibrant places with very valuable land, great minerals, great oil deposits, and wonderful people”.

He then announced that the US was “shifting from AID to trade” because “this will be far more effective and sustainable and beneficial than anything else that we could be doing together.”

At that moment, the illusion of diplomacy collapsed, and the true nature of the meeting was revealed. Trump shifted from statesman to showman, no longer merely hosting but asserting control. The summit quickly descended into a cringe-inducing display, where Africa was presented not as a continent of sovereign nations but as a rich expanse of resources, fronted by compliant leaders performing for the cameras. This was not a dialogue but a display of domination: A stage-managed production in which Trump scripted the scene and African heads of state were cast in subordinate roles.

Trump was in his element, orchestrating the event like a puppet master, directing each African guest to play his part and respond favourably. He “invited” (in effect, instructed) them to make “a few comments to the media” in what became a choreographed show of deference.

President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of Mauritania led the way, both physically and symbolically, by praising Trump’s “commitment” to Africa. The claim was as misleading as it was surreal, given Washington’s recent aid cuts, punitive tariffs, and tightened visa restrictions on African nations.

In one especially embarrassing moment, Ghazouani described Trump as the world’s top peacemaker – crediting him, among other things, with stopping “the war between Iran and Israel”. This praise came with no mention of the US’s continued military and diplomatic support for Israel’s war on Gaza, which the African Union has firmly condemned. The silence amounted to complicity, a calculated erasure of Palestinian suffering for the sake of American favour.

Perhaps mindful of the tariffs looming over his own country, Ghazouani, who served as AU Chair in 2024, slipped into the role of a willing supplicant. He all but invited Trump to exploit Mauritania’s rare minerals, praised him and declared him a peacemaker while ignoring the massacres of tens of thousands of innocents in Gaza made possible by the very weapons Trump provides.

This tone would define the entire sit-down. One by one, the African leaders offered Trump glowing praise and access to their countries’ natural resources – a disturbing reminder of how easily power can script compliance.

Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye even asked Trump to build a golf course in his country. Trump declined, opting instead to compliment Faye’s youthful appearance. Gabon’s President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema talked of “win-win partnerships” with the US, but received only a lukewarm response.

What did capture Trump’s attention was the English fluency of Liberia’s President Joseph Boakai. Ignoring the content of Boakai’s remarks, Trump marvelled at his “beautiful” English and asked, “Where did you learn to speak so beautifully? Where were you educated? Where? In Liberia?”

That Trump seemed unaware English is Liberia’s official language, and has been since its founding in 1822 as a haven for freed American slaves, was perhaps less shocking than the colonial tone of his question. His astonishment that an African president could speak English well betrayed a deeply racist, imperial mindset.

It was not an isolated slip. At a White House peace ceremony on June 29 involving the DRC and Rwanda, Trump publicly commented on the appearance of Angolan journalist and White House correspondent Hariana Veras, telling her, “You are beautiful – and you are beautiful inside.”

Whether or not Veras is “beautiful” is entirely beside the point. Trump’s behaviour was inappropriate and unprofessional, reducing a respected journalist to her looks in the middle of a diplomatic milestone. The sexualisation of Black women – treating them as vessels of white male desire rather than intellectual equals – was central to both the transatlantic slave trade and European colonisation. Trump’s comment extended that legacy into the present.

Likewise, his surprise at Boakai’s English fits a long imperial pattern. Africans who “master” the coloniser’s language are often seen not as complex, multilingual intellectuals, but as subordinates who’ve absorbed the dominant culture. They are rewarded for proximity to whiteness, not for intellect or independence.

Trump’s remarks revealed his belief that articulate and visually appealing Africans are an anomaly, a novelty deserving momentary admiration. By reducing both Boakai and Veras to aesthetic curiosities, he erased their agency, dismissed their achievements, and gratified his colonial ego.

More than anything, Trump’s comments on Boakai reflected his deeper indifference to Africa. They stripped away any illusion that this summit was about genuine partnership.

Contrast this with the US-Africa Leaders Summit held by President Joe Biden in December 2022. That event welcomed more than 40 African heads of state, as well as the African Union, civil society, and private sector leaders. It prioritised peer-to-peer dialogue and the AU’s Agenda 2063 – a far cry from Trump’s choreographed spectacle.

How the Trump administration concluded that five men could represent the entire continent remains baffling, unless, of course, this wasn’t about representation at all, but control. Trump didn’t want engagement; he wanted performance. And sadly, his guests obliged.

In contrast to the tightly managed meeting Trump held with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on July 8, the lunch with African leaders resembled a chaotic, tone-deaf sideshow.

Faye was especially disappointing. He came to power on the back of an anti-imperialist platform, pledging to break with neocolonial politics and restore African dignity. Yet at the White House, he bent the knee to the most brazen imperialist of them all. Like the others, he failed to challenge Trump, to assert equality, or to defend the sovereignty he so publicly champions at home.

In a moment when African leaders had the chance to push back against a resurgent colonial mindset, they instead bowed – giving Trump space to revive a 16th-century fantasy of Western mastery.

For this, he offered a reward: He might not impose new tariffs on their countries, he said, “because they are friends of mine now”.

Trump, the “master”, triumphed.

All the Africans had to do was bow at his feet.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

United States President Donald Trump has drawn mockery after he complimented the president of Liberia for speaking English “beautifully”, even though it is the country’s official language.

“Such good English, where did you learn to speak so beautifully?” Trump asked Joseph Boakai during a meeting with five African leaders at the White House on Wednesday.

“In Liberia?” Trump asked. Boakai seemed to chuckle before responding: “Yes sir.”

Alex Vines, head of the Africa Programme at the London think tank, Chatham House, told Al Jazeera: “President Trump’s limited knowledge of Africa was on show with his comment on President Boakai’s quality of English.”

Liberia was founded in 1822 as a colony for freed Black American slaves as white Americans sought to address what they saw as a problem – the presence of Black people in the United States once slavery ended.

Here is a potted history of the African nation:

Where is Liberia and how populous is it?

The country of five million people is located on the Western African coast and is bounded by Sierra Leone to the northwest, Guinea to the north, Ivory Coast to the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the south and west.

Liberia was founded in 1822 and became a republic in 1847. It is now Africa’s oldest republic and is seen by many as a symbol of African self-determination. Along with Ethiopia, it is the only African nation that was never colonised during Europe’s scramble for the continent.

There are officially 16 ethnic groups that make up Liberia’s Indigenous African population, with the largest being the Kpelle.

How, why and when was Liberia founded?

As the abolitionist movement against slavery gained ground in the US in 1822, a group of 86 formerly enslaved people arrived in Liberia’s present-day capital, Monrovia, the country’s largest port.

Jehudi Ashmun, a white American, was leading efforts by the American Colonization Society (ACS) to resettle free people of colour in Africa. While some chose to emigrate willingly, the organisation is known to have pressured or coerced others into relocating.

ACS was established by white Americans who believed that the presence of free Blacks in America posed a threat to the nation, as they might incite those who remained in slavery to rebel. Some also believed in the “inferiority” of Black people and thought them unable to achieve equality in American society. The organisation’s goal was, therefore, to establish a colony in West Africa that would take them in.

Liberia was proclaimed an independent republic in 1847, becoming the first African republic to achieve such status and be recognised by Western nations. Joseph Jenkins Roberts, an African American who had emigrated to Liberia in 1829 and become a politician, was elected the first president of the new country.

While Indigenous leaders resisted American attempts to purchase land, the newborn country was created after a US Navy officer coerced a local ruler to sell a strip of land to ACS. Its capital was named Monrovia after the US’s fifth president, James Monroe, who had procured government money for the project.

It is estimated that, in total, about 12,000 formerly enslaved Black Americans immigrated to Liberia between 1820 and 1861.

Who makes up the population?

African Americans and their descendants, known as Americo-Liberians, dominated the government of Liberia thanks to their ties with the US government, through which they were able to conduct trade, until a military coup ended their influence in 1980.

Despite being a minority of about 5 percent of the total population in Liberia, from the start of the republic, they mostly excluded the Indigenous African population from any meaningful participation in the political life of the country.

Indigenous people who had migrated from western Sudan in the late Middle Ages constitute a majority of the population. A smaller portion also migrated from neighbouring western African states during the anti-slave-trade campaign and European colonial rule in the 1800s.

In more recent years, it has opened its doors to refugees from neighbouring countries, especially from the Ivory Coast, where civil war broke out in 2002 and 2011.

What is the official language of Liberia?

English is Liberia’s official language, though more than two dozen Indigenous languages are spoken there as well.

Americo-Liberians, who dominated political power until the military coup in 1980, imposed English as the commonly spoken language when they founded the republic in 1847.

Other languages spoken by Liberia’s Indigenous ethnic groups fall under three main groups, all belonging to the Niger-Congo language family: the Mande, Kwa and Mel languages.

What caused the civil wars in Liberia?

Liberia has endured two major civil wars in more recent decades. The country’s conflicts were deeply rooted in ethnic divisions.

Samuel Doe, a member of the Indigenous Krahn ethnic group, led a military coup in 1980, which overthrew the Americo-Liberian government and put an end to its political dominance marked by ethnic inequalities. Liberian President William R Tolbert was assassinated during the coup.

However, Doe ushered in a period of authoritarianism and human rights abuses that led to the First and Second Liberian Civil Wars.

The first war erupted in 1989, when Charles Taylor, a descendant of freed American slaves, launched an armed rebellion against Doe, which killed more than 200,000 people and displaced millions.

A second war broke out in 1999 when a rebel group, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), began a military offensive to topple Taylor’s government with the support of neighbouring Guinea.

The conflict spilled over into Guinea and Sierra Leone but subsided in 2003 with the intervention of international peacekeeping forces and Taylor’s resignation and exile.

Taylor was accused of human rights violations and indicted by a United Nations-sponsored war-crimes tribunal in 2003. He received a sentence of 50 years in prison.

What is the situation now?

Liberia has mostly experienced political stability since the second civil war ended. It held democratic elections in 2017, marking the first peaceful transfer of power since 1944.

Boakai was elected president in 2023 with 50.64 percent of the vote for a six-year term, defeating former international football star George Weah.

Vines, from Chatham House, said: “Ethnicity is less important in Liberia today and Americo-Liberians are a lot less dominant.”

“Liberians still perceive close ties with the US,” especially because of deep connections with many Green Card holders, Vines said, but the significant cut of USAID funding to the African continent earlier this year came as a shock.

During Wednesday’s White House meeting with Trump, Boakai described Liberia as “a longtime friend of the United States”.

“We believe in your policy of making America great again,” he told Trump at the meeting before advocating for US investment in his country. “We just want to thank you so much for this opportunity.”

Why did Trump meet the leaders of Liberia and other West African nations?

The five countries whose leaders met Trump – namely Liberia, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Senegal – possess untapped natural resources, including rare earth minerals. The US president saluted them as “very vibrant places with very valuable land, great minerals, great oil deposits and wonderful people”.

Vines said Boakai’s presence at the White House was “opportunistic”, as the Liberian president was already on a trip to the US, rather than a reflection of deep historical ties between the two nations.

Africa has become a battleground for global influence in the US-China geopolitical rivalry, but Trump is known for his apparently dismissive remarks about the continent.

During his first term as president, Trump caused outrage after criticising immigration to his country from El Salvador, Haiti and the African continent, which he reportedly dubbed “s***hole countries”.

The current Trump administration is also known to be seeking to deport people who have outstayed their visas or are otherwise in the US illegally to West African countries willing to receive them.

According to some media reports, a plan was presented at Wednesday’s meeting, but it remains unclear what Trump offered in exchange and whether any leaders were willing to accept his offer.

Liberians are expressing confusion and anger after United States President Donald Trump praised the English skills of their country’s President Joseph Boakai.

“Such good English,” Trump said to Boakai at the White House on Wednesday, with visible surprise. “Such beautiful English.”

English has been the West African nation’s official language since the 1800s. But Trump did not stop there.

“Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?” he continued, as Boakai murmured a response. “Where were you educated? Where? In Liberia?”

The exchange took place during a meeting in the White House between Trump and five West African leaders, amid a pivot from aid to trade in US foreign policy.

Liberia has had deep ties with Washington for centuries, stemming from the drive to relocate freed slaves from the US.

Foday Massaquio, chairman of the opposition Congress for Democratic Change-Council of Patriots, said that while the remarks were typical of Trump’s engagement with foreign leaders, what some saw as a condescending tone was amplified by the fact that the leaders were African.

“As a matter of fact, it also proves that the West is not taking us seriously as Africans,” he said. “President Trump was condescending; he was very disrespectful to the African leader.”

Kula Fofana, spokesperson for Boakai’s office, told the Associated Press news agency: “I believe that as journalists, it is important to focus on the substantive discussions at the summit.”

“We find it a good thing that President Trump is commending our president for his way of speaking and the clarity he provided during the meeting,” she added. “However, we look forward to achieving the substantive request specifically engaging in a stronger bilateral relationship with the United States.”

Sara Beysolow Nyanti, Liberia’s foreign minister, said on X that “President Trump’s comment on Boakai’s ‘beautiful English’ simply acknowledged Liberia’s familiar American-rooted accent and no offence was taken”.

“Our linguistic heritage is deeply American‑influenced, & this was simply recognised by Donald Trump. We remain committed to strengthening Liberia‑US ties, built on mutual respect, shared values, and meaningful partnership,” the minister said.

Close relationship in the past

But for others, Trump’s comments added to the sense of betrayal that became palpable in Liberia in recent months.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration dissolved the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and said it was no longer following what it called “a charity-based foreign aid model”.

That decision sent shock waves across Liberia, where US support made up almost 2.6 percent of the gross national income, the highest percentage anywhere in the world, according to the Center for Global Development.

Liberians thought they would be spared from Trump’s cuts because of the countries’ close relationship. Their political system is modelled on that of the US, along with its flag. Liberians often refer to the US as their “big brother”.

Liberia was one of the first countries to receive USAID support, starting in 1961. Its street signs, taxis and school buses resemble those in New York.

“Liberia is a longstanding friend of the USA, therefore Trump should have understood that we speak English as an official language,” said Moses Dennis, 37, a businessman from Monrovia. He added that Boakai did not go to Washington for “an English-speaking competition”.

‘Condescending and ridiculing’

Dennis’s views were echoed by Siokin Civicus Barsi-Giah, a close associate of Liberia’s former President George Weah.

“Liberia is an English-speaking country,” he said. “Former slaves and slave owners decided to organise themselves to let go of many people who were in slavery in the United States of America, and they landed on these shores now called the Republic of Liberia.”

For him, the exchange was “condescending and ridiculing”.

“Joseph Boakai was not praised. He was mocked by the greatest president in the world, who is leading the greatest country in the world,” he said.

Some, however, said that given Trump’s style, Wednesday’s remarks were meant as praise.

“To some, the comment may carry a whiff of condescension, echoing a longstanding Western tendency to express surprise when African leaders display intellectual fluency,” said Abraham Julian Wennah, director of research at the African Methodist Episcopal University. “In postcolonial contexts, language has long been weaponised to question legitimacy and competence.”

But if one looks at “Trump’s rhetorical style”, the remarks were “an acknowledgment of Boakai’s polish, intellect and readiness for global engagement”, Wennah added.

MONROVIA, Liberia — There was confusion and anger in Liberia on Thursday after President Trump praised the English skills of President Joseph Boakai.

“Such good English,” Trump said to Boakai, with visible surprise. “Such beautiful English.”

English has been the west African nation’s official language since the 1800s. But Trump did not stop there.

“Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?” he continued, as Boakai murmured a response. “Where were you educated? Where? In Liberia?”

The exchange took place during a meeting in the White House between Trump and five West African leaders on Wednesday, amid a pivot from aid to trade in the U.S. foreign policy.

Liberia has had deep ties with the United States for centuries. It was first established with the aim of relocating freed slaves from the United States.

Foday Massaquio, chairman of the opposition Congress for Democratic Change-Council of Patriots, said that while the remarks were typical of Trump’s engagement with foreign leaders, what some saw as the condescending tone was amplified by the fact that the leaders were African.

“As a matter of fact, it also proves that the West is not taking us seriously as Africans,” he said. “President Trump was condescending, he was very disrespectful to the African leader.”

Kula Fofana, spokesperson for Boakai’s office, told The Associated Press: “I believe that as journalists, it is important to focus on the substantive discussions at the summit.”

Close relationship in the past

Trump’s comments added to the sense of betrayal which became palpable in Liberia in recent months.

Earlier this month, U.S. authorities dissolved theU.S. Agency for International Development and said it was no longer following what they called “a charity-based foreign aid model.”

That decision sent shockwaves across Liberia, where American support made up almost 2.6% of the gross national income, the highest percentage anywhere in the world, according to the Center for Global Development.

Liberians thought they would be spared from Trump’s cuts because of the countries’ close relationship. Their political system is modeled on that of the U.S., along with its flag. Liberians often refer to the U.S. as their “big brother.”

Liberia was one of the first countries to receive USAID support, starting in 1961. The street signs, taxis and school buses resemble those in New York.

“In the first place, Liberia is a long standing friend of the USA, therefore Trump should have understood that we speak English as an official language,” said Moses Dennis, 37, a businessman from Monrovia. He added that Boakai did not go to Washington for “an English speaking competition.”

‘Condescending and ridiculing’

His views were echoed by Siokin Civicus Barsi-Giah, a leadership expert and a close associate of former President George Weah.

“Liberia is an English speaking country,” he said. “Former slaves and slave owners decided to organize themselves to let go of many people who were in slavery in the United States of America, and they landed on these shores now called the Republic of Liberia.”

For him, the exchange was “condescending and ridiculing.”

He added: “Joseph Boakai was not praised. He was mocked by the greatest president in the world, who is leading the greatest country in the world.”

Some however said that given Trump’s personal style, Wednesday’s remarks were meant as a praise.

“To some, the comment may carry a whiff of condescension, echoing a long-standing Western tendency to express surprise when African leaders display intellectual fluency,” said Abraham Julian Wennah the director of Research at the African Methodist Episcopal University. “In postcolonial contexts, language has long been weaponized to question legitimacy and competence.”

But if one looks at “Trump’s rhetorical style,” these remarks were “an acknowledgment of Boakai’s polish, intellect, and readiness for global engagement,” he said.

Mengonfia, Pronczuk and Mcmakin write for the Associated Press.

Trump is hosting leaders from Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania and Senegal on Wednesday for with discussions to focus on business opportunities.

United States President Donald Trump is meeting with leaders from five African nations as he escalates a trade war that could impact developing countries reliant on commerce with the US.

On Wednesday, Trump hosted leaders from Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal at the White House for talks and a working lunch, with discussions expected to centre on business opportunities, according to a White House official.

During the lunch, Trump said they hail from “very vibrant places with very valuable land, great minerals, great oil deposits and wonderful people”.

“There’s a lot of anger on your continent. We’ve been able to solve a lot of it,” Trump said, pointing to a recent peace agreement leaders of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda recently signed at the White House.

The leaders are expected to discuss key areas of cooperation, including economic development, security, infrastructure and democracy, according to statements from the White House and Liberia. Trump said the five countries were unlikely to face US tariffs.

President Trump Participates in a Multilateral Lunch with African Leaders https://t.co/nkcx56xF74

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 9, 2025

Trump is expected to soon announce dates for a broader summit with African leaders, possibly in September around the time of the United Nations General Assembly.

This week’s mini-summit marks the latest effort by successive administrations to counter perceptions that the US has neglected a continent where China has increasingly made economic inroads.

Trade, investment in focus

Wednesday’s meeting is expected to focus on economics.

During the meeting, Gabon’s President Brice Oligui Nguema told Trump his country was open to investment and wants to see its raw mineral resources processed locally, but needs large investments in energy to do so.

“We are not poor countries. We are rich countries when it comes to raw materials. But we need partners to support us and help us develop those resources with win-win partnerships,” Nguema said at the meeting.

Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye suggested his country also offered investment opportunities for tourism, including a golf course.

Faye said the course would only be a six-hour flight from New York and suggested Trump could visit to show off his skills.

The US International Development Finance Corporation said earlier in the day it would provide project development funding for the Banio Potash Mine in Mayumba, Gabon, helping Gabon reduce its dependence on imports.

“DFC’s efforts not only benefit the countries and communities where they invest but also advance US economic interests by opening new markets, strengthening trade relationships, and promoting a more secure and prosperous global economy,” said DFC head of investments Conor Coleman.

The five nations whose leaders are meeting Trump represent a small fraction of US-Africa trade, but they possess untapped natural resources.

Senegal and Mauritania are important transit and origin countries when it comes to migration, and along with Guinea-Bissau, are struggling to contain drug trafficking, both issues of concern for the Trump administration.

However, African Union officials question how Africa could deepen trade ties with the US under what they called “abusive” tariff proposals and visa restrictions largely targeting travellers from Africa.

The top US diplomat for Africa, Ambassador Troy Fitrell, has dismissed allegations of unfair US trade practices.

Earlier this month, US authorities dissolved the US Agency for International Development and said it was no longer following what they called “a charity-based foreign aid model” and instead will focus on partnerships with nations that show “both the ability and willingness to help themselves”.

Those cuts could result in more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030, research published by The Lancet medical journal showed last week.

DAKAR, Senegal — President Trump is hosting five West African leaders on Wednesday for a “multilateral lunch” at the White House as the region reels from the impact of U.S. aid cuts.

The leaders of Liberia, Senegal, Gabon, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau are expected to discuss key areas of cooperation, including economic development, security, infrastructure and democracy, according to a statement from the Liberian presidency. The White House has not provided further details.

The surprise meeting comes as the Trump administration has taken radical steps it said are meant to reshape the U.S. relationship with Africa.

Earlier this month, U.S. authorities dissolved theU.S. Agency for International Development, and said it was no longer following what they called “a charity-based foreign aid model” and will instead focus on partnership with nations that show “both the ability and willingness to help themselves.”

The U.S. African Affairs senior bureau official Troy Fitrell earlier this year said that Trump administration wants to focus on eliminating trade deficits with Africa.

“Assistance involves a donor and a recipient, but commerce is an exchange between equals,” he said.

Critics say that the abrupt shift will result in millions of deaths.

A study published in the Lancet medical journal late last month projected that USAID’s dismantling and deep funding cuts would lead to more than 14 million additional deaths globally by 2030, including 4.5 million children.

West African countries are among the hardest hit by the dissolution of the USAID. The U.S. support in Liberia amounted to 2.6% of the country’s gross national income, the highest percentage anywhere in the world, according to the Center for Global Development.

Five nations whose leaders are meeting Trump represent a small fraction of the U.S-Africa trade, but they possess untapped natural resources. Senegal and Mauritania are important transit and origin countries when it comes to migration, and along Guinea Bissau are struggling to contain drug trafficking, both issues of concern for the Trump administration.

Liberia’s President Joseph Nyuma Boakai in a statement “expressed optimism about the outcomes of the summit, reaffirming Liberia’s commitment to regional stability, democratic governance, and inclusive economic growth.”

Gabon, Liberia, Mauritania and Senegal are among 36 countries which might be included in the possible expansion of Trump’s travel ban.

Pronczuk writes for the Associated Press.