- Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said he loves President Trump for not mincing words when it came to calling African nations ‘s***hole countries’
- Museveni said he does not know if Trump was misquoted but that it doesn’t matter because he speaks frankly and you can’t survive if you are weak
- Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo and Namibia President Hage Geingob previously denounced the president’s language
- Trump’s remarks were widely renounced in the US and around the world
Uganda’s president says he loves President Donald Trump and that he should be praised for not mincing words.
‘I love Trump because he tells Africans frankly,’ President Yoweri Museveni said Tuesday, shortly after the U.S. ambassador apologized for Trump’s recent reference to African nations as ‘s***hole countries.’
‘I don’t know whether he was misquoted or whatever. But he talks to Africans frankly,’ Museveni said. ‘In the world, you cannot survive if you are weak.’
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni (right) said he loves Trump and believes he speaks frankly to Americans after the president’s comments about African nations being ‘s***hole countries’
Trump reportedly used the language at a private White House meeting on January 12, which led to condemnation in the US and around the world.
He has denied using that term, but admitted to using ‘tough’ language at the meeting, and rebutted accusations of racism.
His comments were in stark contrast to the outrage expressed by other African leaders.
Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo tweeted that Trump’s language was ‘extremely unfortunate’.
Namibia said the president’s language had ‘no place in diplomatic discourse’ and was ‘contrary to the norms of civility and human progress’.
The African Union, which represents African countries, demanded that Trump apologize.
President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo (left) and President of Namibia, Hage Geingob (right) both roundly denounced Trump’s reported vulgar remarks about African nations
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, meanwhile, described the reported comments as ‘racist’, ‘shocking and shameful’.
Museveni, 73, has been in power in Uganda since 1986 and could potentially seek a sixth term in office in 2021 if a bill to remove presidential age limits is passed.
No stranger to controversy, on Monday he described Uganda as a ‘pre-industrial society’ and said he regretted removing the death sentence, saying the move had been ‘a recipe for chaos’.