Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) accused President Trump of being “racist and wrong” on Wednesday after Trump complimented Liberian President Joseph Boakai for speaking English, which is the primary language in his country.
“Trump never misses an opportunity to be racist and wrong, and every day he finds a new way to be embarrassing,” Crockett wrote on the social platform X along with a video of the White House exchange. “Asking the President of Liberia where he learned English when it’s literally the official language is peak ignorance.”
“I’m pretty sure being blatantly offensive is not how you go about conducting diplomacy,” she added.
Trump was hosting Boakai and other African leaders at the White House for a trade meeting. After Boakai’s introductory remarks, Trump jumped in with praise for the African leader’s English skills.
“Such good English, such beautiful,” Trump said. “Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?”
“Where were you educated? In Liberia? Well, that’s very interesting. It’s beautiful English,” he continued.
English is the official language of Liberia, which is located on Africa’s West Coast, though the country also is home to indigenous languages and an English variation known as Liberian English.
Boakai, who speaks English with a West African accent, laughed off Trump’s remark during the discussion and didn’t raise offense to Trump’s compliment.
Crockett, a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus in her second House term, has been a vocal critic of Trump, frequently blasting his administration’s policies. Trump, in turn, has dismissed her criticism, calling her a “seriously low IQ individual.”
White House spokesperson Harrison Fields dismissed Crockett’s latest criticism in a statement to The Hill saying that Crockett would be “better suited as a reality TV star on VH1 than an elected official on Capitol Hill.”
“Jasmine Crockett has the brain capacity of a jellyfish and is the last person on Earth to critique anyone’s mental acuity, let alone intelligence,” Fields said. “The Democrats’ rising star has done more to cement the party’s demise than the President she breathlessly supported, the decrepit and feeble Joe Biden.”
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