Donald Trump was forced to hurry along West African leaders boasting about their natural resources during a White House meeting.
In a moment captured on video, Trump appears exasperated as he turns to the side and lets out a breath while Mauritania President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani speaks about the resources in his nation’s seawater.
He throws his hands in the air before eventually interjecting, saying: ‘I appreciate it very much. Maybe we’re going to have to go a little quicker than this.’
Turning his attention to the next leader, Trump said: ‘We have a whole schedule. If I could just ask your name and your country, that would be great, thank you.’
Video of the brief interaction has since gone viral, with MAGA fans noting Trump’s hand motion appeared to be indicating he wanted the leaders to ‘wrap it up.’
Trump invited the leaders of Liberia, Senegal, Gabon, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau for meetings with him in Washington, revealing he sees ‘great economic potential in Africa.’
He promised the West African leaders he would pivot from aid to trade during the meeting Wednesday as the region reels from the impact of sweeping US aid cuts.
The leaders each boasted of their countries’ natural resources and heaped praise on the US president, including their thanks for his help in settling a long-running conflict between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He throws his hands in the air before eventually interjecting, saying: ‘I appreciate it very much. Maybe we’re going to have to go a little quicker than this’
Trump described the nations represented at the meeting as ‘all very vibrant places with very valuable land, great minerals, and great oil deposits, and wonderful people.’
The meeting comes amid a shift in US global and domestic priorities under Trump’s leadership.
Earlier this month, US authorities dissolved the US Agency for International Development and said it was no longer following what they called ‘a charity-based foreign aid model’ and instead would focus on partnerships with nations that show ‘both the ability and willingness to help themselves.’
The five nations invited to the meeting represent a small fraction of US-Africa trade, but they possess untapped natural resources.
Senegal and Mauritania are important transit and origin countries when it comes to migration and along with Guinea-Bissau are struggling to contain drug trafficking, both issues of concern for the Trump administration.
In their speeches, each African leader commended Trump for what they described as his peace efforts across the world and tried to one-up one another by listing the untapped natural resources their nations have to offer.
Trump described the nations represented at the meeting as ‘all very vibrant places with very valuable land, great minerals, and great oil deposits, and wonderful people’
Trump invited the leaders of Liberia, Senegal, Gabon, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau for meetings with him in Washington, revealing he sees ‘great economic potential in Africa’
He promised the West African leaders he would pivot from aid to trade during the meeting Wednesday as the region reels from the impact of sweeping US aid cuts
‘We have a great deal of resources,’ Ghazouani said, listing rare earths, as well as manganese, uranium and possibly lithium. ‘We have a lot of opportunities to offer in terms of investment.’
During the meeting, Trump described trade as a diplomatic tool. Trade ‘seems to be a foundation’ for him to settle disputes between countries, he said.
‘You guys are going to fight, we’re not going to trade,’ Trump said. ‘And we seem to be quite successful in doing that.’
He added, addressing the African leaders: ‘There is a lot of anger on your continent.’
‘We have closed the USAID group to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse,’ Trump said. ‘And we’re working tirelessly to forge new economic opportunities involving both the United States and many African nations.’
