Trump's ‘humiliating’ gesture at the African leaders draws flak; Here's what happened
A moment from the meeting where Trump interrupted a leader sparked criticism on social media, raising concerns about his demeanor.
A moment from President Donald Trump's meeting over lunch with leaders from west African countries at the White House on Wednesday faced criticism on social media. Captured in video and circulated widely, Trump can be seen in it asking one of the leaders to conclude his speech, even though the latter was not done speaking.
"Maybe we're gonna have to go a bit quicker than this, because we have a whole schedule," Trump said with a smirk. “If I could just ask your name, & your country, would be great.”
Wednesday's meeting over lunch at the White House was attended by the political leadership of five West African countries: Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal. Attended by the media, Trump said in his opening speech at the lunch that the leaders at the table came from “very vibrant places with very valuable land, great minerals, great oil deposits and wonderful people”.
Trump also brought up his role in facilitating a peace deal between Rwanda and Congo, which was expected to end the civil war in the region, allowing for US to tap into the mineral resources in eastern Congo. “There’s a lot of anger on your continent. We’ve been able to solve a lot of it.”
Additionally, Trump also brought up how his administration has been using trade as a diplomatic tool to potentially end conflicts. Referring to the Congo-Rwanda conflict, Trump reintegrated the role of trade in it. “You guys are going to fight, we’re not going to trade,” Trump said. “And we seem to be quite successful in doing that.”
Also read: Trump's 'English' compliment to Liberia's president turns into 'national embarrassment'; Here's why
Natural Resources, A Key Area Of Cooperation
The five African nations present at Wednesday's meeting at the White House represent a very small section of the US-Africa trade. However, the Associated Press reported that these countries have a lot of untapped natural resources underground that the US is looking to gain access to.
Gabon’s President Brice Oligui Nguema made the point clear, saying that they are "rich countries when it comes to raw materials." “We are not poor countries. We are rich countries when it comes to raw materials. But we need partners to support us and help us develop those resources with win-win partnerships,” Nguema said.
“We have a great deal of resources,” said Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, the President of Mauritania. “We have a lot of opportunities to offer in terms of investment.”
Trump is expected to announce a broader African summit, likely to be held in September.
