{"id":71412,"date":"2025-07-11T01:10:34","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T01:10:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=71412"},"modified":"2025-07-11T01:10:34","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T01:10:34","slug":"six-things-trump-should-know-about-liberia-after-he-praised-leaders-good-english","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=71412","title":{"rendered":"Six things Trump should know about Liberia after he praised leader\u2019s \u2018good English\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>6 Minute, 21 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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US President Donald Trump has praised Liberian President Joseph Boakai for speaking \u201cgood English\u201d and asked him where he went to school.<\/p>\n

What Trump might have missed is that Liberia shares a unique and long-standing connection with the US.<\/p>\n

English is the country\u2019s official language, and many Liberians speak with an American accent because of those historical ties to the US.<\/p>\n

It may have been this accent that Trump picked up on.<\/p>\n

Here are six things to know about the West African country:<\/p>\n

1: Founded by freed slaves<\/h2>\n

Liberia was founded by freed African-American slaves in 1822 before declaring independence in 1847.<\/p>\n

Thousands of black Americans and liberated Africans, rescued from transatlantic slave ships, settled in Liberia during the colonial era.<\/p>\n

Former US President Abraham Lincoln officially declared Liberia\u2019s independence in 1862 but the country retained a lot of US heritage, and it remained in the American \u201csphere of influence\u201d during the colonial period.<\/p>\n

Due to this integration, Liberian culture, landmarks and institutions have a strong African-American influence.<\/p>\n

Ten of Liberia\u2019s 26 presidents were born in the US.<\/p>\n

Liberia shares a long-standing historical connection with the US, and several American presidents, including George W Bush, have visited the country<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The descendants of these freed slaves, known as Americo-Liberians, dominated the country for more than 100 years.<\/p>\n

This was resented by some indigenous Liberians, and the last president from that community, William Tolbert, was\u00a0overthrown and killed in a coup in 1980<\/a>.<\/p>\n

They account for about a quarter of the population,\u00a0according to the Britannica website<\/a>, which says more than two dozen languages are spoken in the country.<\/p>\n

President Boakai is from the Kissi ethnic group and so would have spoken that as his mother tongue, before learning English at school.<\/p>\n

2: The capital is named after a former US president<\/h2>\n
Some streets in Monrovia are named after colonial American figures<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Liberia\u2019s capital, Monrovia, was named in honour of America\u2019s fifth President, James Monroe, who was a strong supporter of the American Colonisation Society (ACS).<\/p>\n

The ACS was the organisation responsible for resettling freed African-Americans in West Africa, which eventually led to the founding of Liberia.<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, the early architecture of the city was largely influenced by American-style buildings.<\/p>\n

Many streets in Monrovia are named after colonial American figures, reflecting the city\u2019s founding and historical ties to the US.<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s main hospital is called the John F Kennedy Medical Centre (JFKMC), named after the former US president.<\/p>\n

3: Nearly identical flags<\/h2>\n
There is a striking resemblance between the flags of the two countries<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The flag of Liberia closely resembles the American flag. It features 11 alternating red and white stripes and a blue square with a single white star.<\/p>\n

The white star symbolises Liberia as the first independent republic in Africa.<\/p>\n

The US flag, in comparison, has 13 stripes representing the original 13 colonies and 50 stars, one for each state.<\/p>\n

The Liberian flag was designed by seven black women, all born in America.<\/p>\n

4: Ex-president\u2019s son plays for US football team<\/h2>\n
Timothy Weah, seen here shaking hands with President Donald Trump last month, plays for Juventus in Italy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Timothy Weah, the son of Liberia\u2019s former President George Weah, is an American professional football player who plays for Italian club Juventus as well as the US national team.<\/p>\n

The 25-year-old forward was born in the US but began his professional career with Paris St-Germain in France, where he won the Ligue 1 title before moving on loan to the Scottish team, Celtic.<\/p>\n

His father, George, is a Liberian football legend who won the Ballon d\u2019Or in 1995 while playing for Juventus\u2019s Italian rivals AC Milan. He is the only African winner of this award, and went on to be elected president in 2018.<\/p>\n

5: Former president won the Nobel Peace Prize<\/h2>\n
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf served as the 24th president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Liberia produced Africa\u2019s first elected female president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.<\/p>\n

She was elected in 2005, two years after the nation\u2019s bloody civil war ended, and served as president until 2018.<\/p>\n

Johnson Sirleaf has a strong American background as she studied at Madison Business College and later went to Harvard University, where she graduated as an economist.<\/p>\n

She has received worldwide recognition and accolades for maintaining peace during her administration.<\/p>\n

Her story is pitted with remarkable feats of defiance and courage.<\/p>\n

In 2011, along with Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karm\u0101n, she won the Nobel Prize for Peace for her efforts to further women\u2019s rights.<\/p>\n

In 2016, Forbes listed her among the most powerful women in the world.<\/p>\n

6: World\u2019s largest rubber plantation<\/h2>\n
Rubber is extracted by cutting into the bark of a tree and then collecting the rubber as it drips out<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The plantation, which measures 185 square miles (479 sq km), is owned by Firestone Liberia, a subsidiary of the US tyre manufacturer.<\/p>\n

It was founded in 1926 to give the US access to rubber at a time when the product was controlled by the UK.<\/p>\n

Firestone remains Liberia\u2019s largest private employer, with more than 4,000 workers.<\/p>\n

The company has been accused of human rights abuses going back almost to the foundation of the rubber industry in Liberia. In 2006, a UN report into Liberia\u2019s rubber industry said: \u201cPlantation workers are exposed to hazardous working conditions without adequate training or safety equipment.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany workers\u2026 do not receive fair wages or equal remuneration, and do not have the right to strike. Child labour is frequently used on the plantations,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

Firestone has always denied such allegations and, in 2011, it was cleared of using child labour by a US court.<\/p>\n

Rubber remains one of Liberia\u2019s biggest exports, and the US its largest market.<\/p>\n

What do Liberians make of Trump\u2019s comments?<\/h2>\n

Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow Nyanti denied it was an awkward moment, saying there was a \u201clack of understanding\u201d around the world about the languages people speak in Africa, which she described as a \u201cmulti-lingual continent\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cLiberia happens to have the American-English intonation, and I believe President Trump heard something familiar in the way President Boakai spoke, which is different from the way others speak on the continent,\u201d she told the BBC\u2019s Newsday programme.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were not offended at all,\u201d she said, adding that away from the TV cameras, there was a discussion of the two countries\u2019 shared history.<\/p>\n

But there was a mixed reaction among other Liberians.<\/p>\n

Accountant Joe Manley, 40, told the BBC that Trump should have been properly briefed before meeting Liberia\u2019s leader.<\/p>\n

\u201cLiberia has always been an English-speaking country. Our president represents a country with a rich educational tradition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Henrietta Peters Magbollah says many people are ignorant about African nations and their peoples<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For human resources professional Henrietta Peters Magbollah, the US president\u2019s surprise at Boakai\u2019s eloquence reflects a broader problem of global ignorance regarding African nations and their peoples.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom travel experiences and observations, most citizens of other nations outside Africa do not know a lot about African countries,\u201d she said. \u201cThe few that know a little, their minds are clouded by narratives of war, poverty, and lack of education.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, lawyer and politician Kanio Gbala agreed with the foreign minister that no insult was meant.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe President Trump\u2019s remark was a genuine compliment on President Boakai\u2019s command of English,\u201d he told the BBC. \u201cThere is no evidence of sarcasm. Reading it as disrespectful may reflect political agendas.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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