Washington, DC, USA, July 10, 2025: U.S. President Donald Trump was impressed by the eloquence of Liberian President Joseph N. Boakai during their opening meeting on Wednesday, prompting him to ask the Liberian leader where he had learned to speak so beautifully.
“Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?” Trump asked, prompting laughter. President Boakai responded, “I was educated in Liberia.” “That’s very interesting. It’s beautiful English.” Replied Trump.
Liberia is a country founded by freed American slaves with American English as its official language.
Meanwhile, President Trump’s admiration of Boakai’s “beautiful English” follows the President’s opening statement at the Trump Summit with five African presidents, including Boakai, which seeks to explore “commercial opportunities” between the American people and the African countries.
Mr. Boakai had made a direct appeal to Trump, calling for increased American investment in Liberia, listing the country’s rich natural resource potential as an opportunity for American investors.
He also boasted of Liberia’s stability in the region, citing successive democratic elections that have left the country peaceful and ready for business. Boakai also reminded Trump of Liberia’s historic ties with the United States, while commending President Trump’s policies.
“Liberia is a longtime friend of the United States,” President Boakai said. “We believe in your policy of making America great again, and we go a long way with you in your diplomacy that promotes economic development and commercial friendship.”
“We are committed to peace, and we’ve been very lucky within our region,” he stated. “We are a country that has had a series of democratic elections, and our country has been cooling down.”
“One of the things we ask, as good friends for a long time, is the opportunity to do a survey of our minerals,” Boakai continued, adding, “We’d like to see that happen.”
President Trump is hosting President Boakai along with leaders of Gabon, Mauritania, Senegal, and Guinea-Bissau at the White House to discuss commercial investment, part of the Trump administration’s effort to recalibrate its trade approach to the region.
President Trump is seeking to strike deals with African countries to expand the United States’ access to critical minerals and to counter China’s rising influence on the continent.
The African summit comes at a time when Trump is dismantling the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which has left African countries whirling.
U.S. aid to Liberia, for example, amounted to 2.6 percent of the country’s gross national income, the highest percentage of any nation in the world, according to the Center for Global Development.
The Summit is expected to last till July 11, with the anticipation of striking a mutually beneficial deal for all parties at the Summit. -Writes Othello B. Garblah.
