Emmanuel Gonquoi has accused the US of repackaging colonial-era policies under the guise of economic partnership
US President Donald Trump is more interested in exploiting Africa’s resources than building genuine partnerships with the continent, Liberian civil rights activist Emmanuel Gonquoi has said.
Speaking to RT following Trump’s meeting on Wednesday with African leaders at the White House, the head of the Economic Freedom Fighters of Liberia said he did not believe the US leader was acting in good faith. Instead, he described the meeting as part of a “colonial package” aimed at rebranding imperialism under the guise of economic cooperation.
Gonquoi claimed that what the Trump administration called a “new policy” was in fact a repurposed set of imperialist tools designed to “exploit Africa once again.” He added he did not believe Trump was pursuing an economic policy that would benefit Africa more than the US.
On the issue of arms sales, Gonquoi strongly criticized Trump’s call for African nations to purchase American weapons, arguing that such policies would only deepen the continent’s conflicts.
According to the activist, Africans “are interested in utilizing technology and science to take millions of people out of poverty.” Gonquoi emphasized that the continent’s focus should shift from militarization to job creation and economic development.
He also responded to the moment during a lunch with African leaders when Trump asked the Liberian president, Joseph Boakai, how he learned to speak English. “I was honestly shocked, considering the history between the US and Liberia. For a sitting US president to have no idea that Liberia is an English-speaking country,” he noted.
Reacting to Trump’s remark that there is “a lot of anger” on the continent, Gonquoi argued that tensions are the direct result of Western interference. He accused the US, France, and Britain of fueling internal divisions and manipulating African leaders in pursuit of natural resources.
