U.S. President Donald Trump sparked outrage when he allegedly described some African and other countries as “s***holes” in a private meeting with lawmakers about immigration legislation about two weeks ago. Trump has admitted that he used “tough” language in the meeting with senators but not the specific terminology that leaked to the media. He also denied allegations from his foes that he harbors racist sentiments.
Among many other political leaders and organizations, the African Union, the body that represents all 55 countries on that continent, denounced President Trump for his comments and demanded an apology.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni takes a different view of the 45th American commander-in-chief, however, which he explained during a speech at the East African Legislative Assembly, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
“American has got one of the best presidents ever. Mr. Trump, I love Trump. I love Trump because he tells Africans frankly. I don’t know if he’s misquoted or whatever, but when he speaks, I like him, because he speaks frankly. The Africans need to solve their problems. They need to be strong…and it’s the fault of the Africans that they are weak.”
Museveni added that Africa should be doing better since the huge continent is far larger in land mass and water resources than, for example, India.
Yoweri Museveni has served as Uganda’s president since 1986, with his first term running 10 years. Although the country has prospered during that time, his tenure has been marked by controversy, including support for a constitutional amendment lifting term limits on presidents, suppression of political opposition, and vote fraud allegations. The five-term leader, 74, also signed a law that ended age limits for presidential candidates. He is up for reelection in 2021.
The third purpose for integration is strategic security. Donald Trump speaks to Africans frankly. Africans need to solve their problems. You can’t survive if you are weak. It is the Africans’ fault that they are weak. We are12 times the size of India, but why are we not strong?
— Yoweri K Museveni (@KagutaMuseveni) January 23, 2018
Trump’s controversial remarks also allegedly included indicating a preference in the same conversation for immigrants from Norway, which added fuel to the fire in the controversy that knocked Michael Wolff’s tell-all, Fire and Fury, out of the headlines. The s***hole controversy, in turn, was replaced by the next controversy du jour, which was the three-day government shutdown .
Against the backdrop of the Norway reference, Trump’s predecessor in office, Barack Obama, praised Norway and its neighboring Northern European countries in 2016, but there were no political repercussions. In the context of Middle East turmoil, Obama also privately wished that everyone could be like the Scandinavians. In an interview in the same year, Obama described the North African country of Libya as a “s*** show.”
Watch Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni remarks about Donald Trump and Africa in the clip below.
America has got one of the best presidents ever. I love Trump. He speaks to Africans frankly. Africans need to solve their problems – Museveni #NTVNews pic.twitter.com/2LQcKg1qnb
— NTV UGANDA (@ntvuganda) January 23, 2018