Where is Liberia, whose president Trump praised for his ‘good English’?

United States President Donald Trump has drawn mockery aft helium complimented the president of Liberia for speaking English “beautifully”, adjacent though it is the country’s authoritative language.

“Such bully English, wherever did you larn to talk truthful beautifully?” Trump asked Joseph Boakai during a meeting with 5 African leaders astatine the White House connected Wednesday.

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

Alex Vines, caput of the Africa Programme astatine the London deliberation tank, Chatham House, told Al Jazeera: “President Trump’s constricted cognition of Africa was connected amusement with his remark connected President Boakai’s prime of English.”

Liberia was founded successful 1822 arsenic a colony for freed Black American slaves as achromatic Americans sought to code what they saw arsenic a occupation – the beingness of Black radical successful the United States erstwhile slavery ended.

Here is simply a potted past of the African nation:

Where is Liberia and however populous is it?

The state of 5 cardinal radical is located connected the Western African seashore and is bounded by Sierra Leone to the northwest, Guinea to the north, Ivory Coast to the eastbound and the Atlantic Ocean to the southbound and west.

Liberia was founded successful 1822 and became a republic successful 1847. It is present Africa’s oldest republic and is seen by galore arsenic a awesome of African self-determination. Along with Ethiopia, it is the lone African federation that was ne'er colonised during Europe’s scramble for the continent.

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

(Al Jazeera)

How, wherefore and erstwhile was Liberia founded?

As the abolitionist question against slavery gained crushed successful the US successful 1822, a radical of 86 formerly enslaved radical arrived successful Liberia’s present-day capital, Monrovia, the country’s largest port.

Jehudi Ashmun, a achromatic American, was starring efforts by the American Colonization Society (ACS) to resettle escaped radical of colour successful Africa. While immoderate chose to emigrate willingly, the organisation is known to person pressured oregon coerced others into relocating.

ACS was established by achromatic Americans who believed that the beingness of escaped Black radical successful the US posed a menace to the nation, arsenic they mightiness incite those who remained successful slavery to rebel. Some besides believed successful the “inferiority” of Black radical and thought them incapable to execute equality successful American society. The organisation’s extremity was, therefore, to found a colony successful West Africa that would instrumentality them in.

Liberia was proclaimed an autarkic republic successful 1847, becoming the archetypal African republic to execute specified presumption and beryllium recognised by Western nations. Joseph Jenkins Roberts, an African American who had emigrated to Liberia successful 1829 and go a politician, was elected the archetypal president of the caller country.

JJ Roberts, President of Liberia, 1847 [Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images]

While Indigenous leaders resisted American attempts to acquisition land, the newborn state was created aft a US Navy serviceman coerced a section ruler to merchantability a portion of onshore to ACS. Its superior was named Monrovia aft the US’s 5th president, James Monroe, who had procured authorities wealth for the project.

It is estimated that, successful total, astir 12,000 formerly enslaved Black Americans immigrated to Liberia betwixt 1820 and 1861.

Who makes up the population?

African Americans and their descendants, known arsenic Americo-Liberians, dominated the authorities of Liberia acknowledgment to their ties with the US government, done which they were capable to behaviour trade, until a subject coup ended their power successful 1980.

Despite being a number of astir 5 percent of the full colonisation successful Liberia, from the commencement of the republic, they mostly excluded the Indigenous African colonisation from immoderate meaningful information successful the governmental beingness of the country.

Indigenous radical who had migrated from occidental Sudan successful the precocious Middle Ages represent a bulk of the population. A smaller information besides migrated from neighbouring occidental African states during the anti-slave-trade run and European assemblage regularisation successful the 1800s.

In much caller years, it has opened its doors to refugees from neighbouring countries, particularly from the Ivory Coast, wherever civilian warfare broke retired successful 2002 and 2011.

What is the authoritative connection of Liberia?

English is Liberia’s authoritative language, though much than 2 twelve Indigenous languages are spoken determination arsenic well.

Americo-Liberians, who dominated governmental powerfulness until the subject coup successful 1980, imposed English arsenic the commonly spoken connection erstwhile they founded the republic successful 1847.

Other languages spoken by Liberia’s Indigenous taste groups autumn nether 3 main groups, each belonging to the Niger-Congo connection family: the Mande, Kwa and Mel languages.

A subordinate of a burial squad holds slug casings and a slug portion searching to exhume the remains of erstwhile Liberian President William R Tolbert, assassinated during a coup successful 1980, and those of 13 officials from his government, successful Monrovia, Liberia, connected February 20, 2025 [Carielle Doe/Reuters]

What caused the civilian wars successful Liberia?

Liberia has endured 2 large civilian wars successful much caller decades. The country’s conflicts were profoundly rooted successful taste divisions.

Samuel Doe, a subordinate of the Indigenous Krahn taste group, led a subject coup successful 1980, which overthrew the Americo-Liberian authorities and enactment an extremity to its governmental dominance marked by taste inequalities. Liberian President William R Tolbert was assassinated during the coup.

However, Doe ushered successful a play of authoritarianism and quality rights abuses that led to the First and Second Liberian Civil Wars.

The archetypal warfare erupted successful 1989, erstwhile Charles Taylor, a descendant of freed American slaves, launched an equipped rebellion against Doe, which killed much than 200,000 radical and displaced millions.

A 2nd warfare broke retired successful 1999 erstwhile a rebel group, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), began a subject violative to topple Taylor’s authorities with the enactment of neighbouring Guinea.

The struggle spilled implicit into Guinea and Sierra Leone but subsided successful 2003 with the involution of planetary peacekeeping forces and Taylor’s resignation and exile.

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

What is the concern now?

Liberia has mostly experienced governmental stableness since the 2nd civilian warfare ended. It held antiauthoritarian elections successful 2017, marking the archetypal peaceful transportation of powerfulness since 1944.

Boakai was elected president successful 2023 with 50.64 percent of the ballot for a six-year term, defeating erstwhile planetary shot star George Weah.

Vines, from Chatham House, said: “Ethnicity is little important successful Liberia contiguous and Americo-Liberians are a batch little dominant.”

“Liberians inactive comprehend adjacent ties with the US,” particularly due to the fact that of heavy connections with galore Green Card holders, Vines said, but the important cut of USAID funding to the African continent earlier this twelvemonth came arsenic a shock.

During Wednesday’s White House gathering with Trump, Boakai described Liberia arsenic “a longtime person of the United States”.

“We judge successful your argumentation of making America large again,” helium told Trump astatine the gathering earlier advocating for US concern successful his country. “We conscionable privation to convey you truthful overmuch for this opportunity.”

People hold to ballot astatine a polling presumption during the statesmanlike and parliamentary elections successful Monrovia, the superior of Liberia, connected October 10, 2023 [Harry Browne/Anadolu via Getty Images]

Why did Trump conscionable the leaders of Liberia and different West African nations?

The 5 countries whose leaders met Trump – namely Liberia, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Senegal – person untapped earthy resources, including uncommon world minerals. The US president saluted them arsenic “very vibrant places with precise invaluable land, large minerals, large lipid deposits and fantastic people”.

Vines said Boakai’s beingness astatine the White House was “opportunistic”, arsenic the Liberian president was already connected a travel to the US, alternatively than a reflection of heavy humanities ties betwixt the 2 nations.

Africa has go a battleground for planetary power successful the US-China geopolitical rivalry, but Trump is known for his seemingly dismissive remarks astir the continent.

During his archetypal word arsenic president, Trump caused outrage aft criticising migration to his state from El Salvador, Haiti and the African continent, which helium reportedly dubbed “s***hole countries”.

The existent Trump medication is besides known to beryllium seeking to deport radical who person outstayed their visas oregon are different successful the US illegally to West African countries consenting to person them.

According to immoderate media reports, a program was presented astatine Wednesday’s meeting, but it remains unclear what Trump offered successful speech and whether immoderate leaders were consenting to judge his offer.