Trump has ruined Africa’s relationship with the US
Opinion
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Image: Supplied
THE United Sates says it wants to be Africa’s friend. But if US President Donald Trump is what friendship looks like, then Angola might want to look elsewhere.
Since stepping back into the White House, Trump has wasted no time showing exactly how little he values African nations. And in Luanda, people are paying attention.
At the EU4-Africa Summit this year, US delegates repeated the usual promises. More cooperation, more trade, more support. But what followed looked more like punishment than partnership.
Suddenly, countries such as Angola found themselves facing new tariffs, higher than before. Then came the travel bans. Then came the silence on development programmes. And while Trump claims he wants better ties with Africa, his actions say otherwise.
This is not just politics. This is personal. Many Angolans remember what Trump said during his first time in office. He called African countries “shitholes”. He said Nigerians lived in “huts”. He mocked the entire nation of Lesotho, calling it a place “no one has ever heard of”.
These are not slips of the tongue. These are racist insults, and they have never been taken lightly on this continent.
And it did not stop there. Just last week, Trump met with African leaders and managed to embarrass himself again. He praised Liberian President Joseph Boakai for “speaking such good English” and asked where he had learned it. But English is the official language of Liberia, and many Liberians speak it fluently, often with an American accent.
This comment revealed just how little Trump understands Africa — and how unwilling he is to learn. In his mind, only white Americans speak proper English, and Africans, whom he imagines living in huts, communicate in strange, unintelligible sounds like primitive tribes.
In Angola, people are now asking serious questions. How can we trust a leader who speaks this way about us? How can we build a future with someone who clearly sees Africa as inferior?
Trump’s policies have real consequences. In just a few months, US funding for health programmes in Angola has dried up. Clinics that once treated cholera and other preventable diseases are shutting down. Educational projects in rural areas have stalled. Communities that depended on American aid feel abandoned, and not by accident.
Trump’s government is cutting support while increasing pressure. It’s not diplomacy. It’s blackmail.
Countries such as Angola, Mozambique and South Africa have long worked to balance their international relations. South Africa, after all, helped found the BRICS alliance. But Trump does not tolerate independence. He threatened to raise tariffs even further on these nations just for doing business with others. That is not partnership. That is control.
What’s more troubling is the tone Trump uses. He talks to world leaders the way a spoilt child talks in a video game. He tweets insults. He makes threats. He contradicts his own diplomats. This is not how serious countries operate, and Angola has taken notice.
Inside the Angolan government, frustration is growing. Officials say privately that the US under Trump cannot be trusted. The progress made during Joe Biden’s time is being erased. The African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which once opened doors for African exports, is now frozen. Promises of cooperation have turned into ultimatums.
Elsewhere in Africa, young leaders like Burkina Faso’s Ibrahim Traoré are calling for a new path. A future where Africa makes its own decisions and is not bullied into submission. In Luanda, those ideas are gaining ground. People are tired of being treated like a second-class continent.
Trump is not just damaging relations. He is pushing Africa away. Even allies of the US in Europe and Canada are beginning to question his behaviour. If they are worried, how much more should we be?
As Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) prepare to sign a peace treaty in Washington, Angola’s delegation has an opportunity. This is the moment to speak up. Not just about regional issues, but about the deeper disrespect that Trump represents. Africa deserves better. Angola deserves better.
There is still time to choose a different path. But it starts by calling things by their name. What Trump is doing is not partnership. It is disrespect, and it has no place in the future Angola wants to build.
* Dr Manuel Godsin is a writer and researcher at the International Centre for Political and Strategic Studies. He obtained a doctorate in international relations and strategic affairs from the University of Bergen in Norway and a Master’s Degree in International Crisis Management from the University of Oslo.
** The views expressed do not reflect those of the Sunday Independent, Independent Media, or IOL.