Lesotho Reacts After President Trump Says No One Has Ever Heard of the Country

Suburbs of Maseru, Lesotho

In his State of the Union address to Congress on March 5 (Vietnam time), President Trump named Lesotho when listing a number of aid cuts that the leader said were "a terrible waste".

"Eight million dollars to promote the LGBTQI+ movement in the African country of Lesotho, a country that no one has ever heard of," CNN quoted Mr. Trump on March 6, drawing laughter in parliament.

Foreign Minister Mpotjoane was offended by the comments.

"I am deeply shocked that my country can be mentioned like that by a head of state," the diplomat told Reuters.

Map of southern Africa showing Lesotho (red) within South Africa

Lesotho, a mountainous country of about 2 million people surrounded by South Africa, has the highest average elevation in the world and is sometimes nicknamed the "Kingdom in the Sky".

"Lesotho is an important and unique country in the world. I am pleased to extend an invitation to the president and the rest of the world to come to Lesotho," said Foreign Minister Mpotjoane.

He said some of the civil society organisations that receive funding from the US Embassy in Lesotho support the LGBT+ community, but the US also provides important funding in the health and agriculture sectors to the country.

The Trump administration has cut billions of dollars in foreign aid worldwide to adjust spending under its "America First" policy.

“The US president’s decision to cut aid… that’s his prerogative,” said Mpotjoane. “We have to accept that. But it’s really quite unfortunate to refer to my country like that,” the diplomat concluded.

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Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lesotho-phan-ung-vi-tong-thong-trump-noi-chang-ai-tung-nghe-ten-nuoc-nay-185250306144756436.htm