(Africanews) – Former U.S. President Donald Trump has come under fire after making a dismissive and confusing comment about the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during a high-profile meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White House.
While discussing U.S. border security and migration—a shared concern between the two right-wing leaders—Trump claimed that criminals from around the globe were entering the United States. “They released jails, Giorgia, from all over the world, and released them not just [from] South America, but all over the world—the Congo in Africa. Many, many people come from the Congo. I don’t know what that is, but they came from the Congo and all over the world they came in,” Trump said.
His remark, particularly the phrase “I don’t know what that is” in reference to Congo—a country of more than 100 million people and one of Africa’s largest—has drawn widespread criticism online. Many accused the former president of ignorance and of perpetuating negative stereotypes about African nations.
Despite the backlash, Trump doubled down on his claims, criticizing current U.S. immigration policies and framing the issue as a national security threat. “We had a great border four years ago, but we have a border now that’s even tighter,” he asserted. “We need to get murderers and drug dealers and people that were in jail… from all over the world.”
The meeting between Trump and Meloni also covered global political issues. Although the two leaders align on curbing migration and advancing nationalist agendas, they diverge significantly on the war in Ukraine. Meloni has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine and her government is actively involved in postwar reconstruction discussions.
Trump, in contrast, used the meeting to urge Italy to increase its defense spending to meet NATO’s 2% of GDP target. Italy currently spends 1.49% of its GDP on defense—one of the lowest rates among NATO members.
