Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta met with the United States’ President Trump on the 28th of August, 2018. According to him, the US President has a profound understanding of Africa and wants to trade with it.
He said Trumps’ ‘shithole’ comments in January 2018 are nothing to go by and he understands him better now.
Kenyatta held talks with Trump at the White House, touching on trade and security. A major infrastructure project, a massive roadway that will be record-setting in many ways and we are going to conclude a lot of good things,” Trump also added.
When he welcomed President Kenyatta, on Monday President Uhuru Kenyatta has claimed he now has a better and deeper understanding of the US President after he termed some African countries as ‘shithole’.
In January 2018, Trump had used the derogatory word in reference to Caribbean Country Haiti among others whose citizens were migrating into the US.
In an interview on BBC’s Hardtalk with Zeinab Badawi moments after his historic meeting with the US president, Uhuru was asked his view of Trump’s shithole comments on African countries.
“Let me put it to you this way, what we need to do is basically create a better understanding (of Donald Trump) of the situation and I think I had an opportunity to really do that today.
“I will say he is a man who is ready to listen and he listened…He has a much better understanding of Africa and of Kenya after our session. He is basically a man who wants to do deals. ” responded Uhuru Kenyatta.
Trumps ‘shithole’ comments in January 2018 was upsetting to a section of African nations including Nigeria which demanded the US President expounded on them as they felt they were shot to demean Africa on racial lines.
Kenyan Government spokesman Erick Kirathie has also set the record straight regarding the issue, reaffirming that the Kenyan government had no issue with the remarks.
NASA leader Raila Odinga was among those who were disturbed by Trump’s remarks and had asked him to withdraw them.
The African Union Commission was also alarmed by Trumps reference to African immigrants terming them as contemptuous through its spokesperson Ebba Kalondo.
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