Thursday, July 10, 2025

5 issues Trump ought to know and why they communicate ‘good English’

Moses Kollie Garzeawu and Wycliffe Muia

BBC Information, Monrovia & Nairobi

Watch: Trump praises Liberian president’s English, the nation’s official language

US President Donald Trump has praised Liberian President Joseph Boakai for talking “good English” and requested him the place he went to highschool.

What Trump may need missed is that Liberia shares a novel and long-standing reference to the US.

English is the nation’s official language and lots of Liberians communicate with an American accent due to these historic ties to the US.

It could have been this accent that Trump picked up on.

Listed below are 5 issues to know concerning the nation:

Based by freed slaves

Liberia was based by freed African-American slaves in 1822 earlier than declaring independence in 1847.

Hundreds of black People and liberated Africans – rescued from transatlantic slave ships – settled in Liberia through the colonial period.

Former US President Abraham Lincoln formally declared Liberia’s independence in 1862 however the nation retained loads of US heritage and it remained within the American “sphere of affect” through the colonial interval.

Attributable to this integration, Liberian tradition, landmarks, and establishments have a heavy African-American affect.

Ten of Liberia’s 26 presidents had been born within the US.

AFP via Getty Images Former US President George W. Bush wearing a black suit reaching out to dancers who are wearing traditional attire and holding Liberian flags AFP through Getty Photos

Liberia shares a long-standing historic reference to the US

The capital is called after a former US president

Reuters A view of a busy street in Monrovia - with many cars and shops Reuters

Some streets in Monrovia are named after colonial American figures

Liberia’s capital, Monrovia, was named in honour of America’s fifth President, James Monroe, who was a robust supporter of the American Colonization Society (ACS).

The ACS was the organisation chargeable for resettling freed African-People in West Africa – which finally led to the founding of Liberia.

Not surprisingly the early structure of town was largely influenced by American-style buildings.

Many streets in Monrovia are named after colonial American figures, reflecting town’s founding and historic ties to the US.

Practically similar flags

AFP via Getty Images Former US President George W. Bush and former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf walk past Liberian and US flags AFP through Getty Photos

There’s a hanging resemblance between the flags of the 2 nations

The flag of Liberia intently resembles the American flag. It options 11 alternating crimson and white stripes and a blue sq. with a single white star.

The white star symbolises Liberia as the primary impartial republic in Africa.

The US flag, compared, has 13 stripes representing the unique 13 colonies and 50 stars, one for every state.

The Liberian flag was designed by seven black ladies – all born in America.

Ex-president’s son performs for US soccer group

Reuters President Donald Trump wearing a suit and a yellow ties shakes hands with Timothy Weah, wearing white jumper Reuters

Timothy Weah, seen right here shaking arms with President Donald Trump, performs for Juventus in Italy

Timothy Weah, the son of Liberia’s former President George Weah, is an American skilled soccer participant who performs for Italian membership Juventus in addition to the US nationwide group.

The 25-year-old ahead was born within the US however started his skilled profession with Paris St-Germain in France, the place he gained the Ligue 1 title earlier than shifting on mortgage to the Scottish group, Celtic.

His father, George, is a Liberian soccer legend who gained the Ballon d’Or in 1995 whereas taking part in for Juventus’s Italian rivals AC Milan. He’s the one African winner of this award – and went on to be elected president in 2018.

Former president gained the Nobel Peace Prize

Reuters A close-up of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf wearing an African glasses and and an African headscarfReuters

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf served because the twenty fourth president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018

Liberia produced Africa’s first elected feminine president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

She was elected in 2005, two years after the nation’s bloody civil warfare ended, and served as president till 2018.

Sirleaf has a robust American background as she studied at Madison Enterprise Faculty and later went to Harvard College the place she graduated as an economist.

She has obtained worldwide recognition and accolades for sustaining peace throughout her administration.

Her story is pitted with outstanding feats of defiance and braveness.

In 2011, together with Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karmān, she gained the Nobel Prize for Peace for her efforts to additional ladies’s rights.

In 2016, Forbes listed her among the many strongest ladies on this planet.

Extra about Liberia from the BBC:

Getty Images/BBC A woman looking at her mobile phone and the graphic BBC News AfricaGetty Photos/BBC

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