00:00U.S. President Donald Trump's praise for the beautiful English of Liberia's President Joseph Boakai
00:06sparked confusion on Thursday in the English-speaking African nation,
00:11with many interpreting the comments as patronizing.
00:15Such good English, Trump stated to Boakai during an event at the White House visibly surprised.
00:22I don't think he knows liberal history, because if he knows liberal history, he will not ask that question.
00:28Yes, because if he knows liberals, but English-speaking country, he will not know whether it was a question or I don't know.
00:38But I don't think it was necessary.
00:41Although English has been the official language of Liberia since the country was founded in the 1800s,
00:48Trump asked Boakai where he had learned to speak the language so beautifully
00:52and continued as Boakai quietly answered.
00:56Liberia was founded by free slaves from the United States in the 19th century.
01:04Precisely in the 1820s, you had the American Colonization Society
01:12that helped to resettle former slaves from the Americas to West Africa.
01:18And they were the ones that led to the establishment of the republic or the nation that we call Liberia today.
01:27While a number of Liberians considered the remarks as an affront,
01:31Boakai's administration took no offense in the exchange that occurred on Wednesday
01:35during a meeting at the White House with Trump and five West African leaders.
01:40What's that news about?
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