Botswana might be home to just 2.2 million people but its leadership punches above its weight in standing up to Donald Trump. Whether responding to his crude comments about Africa or defying him at the United Nations, Botswana has stood taller than many of its bigger African counterparts.
Following Trump’s comments referring mainly to Haiti and African countries as “shithole countries,” Botswana’s government has asked the US ambassador to the country to “clarify” if it’s one of those Trump considers a shithole country. It has also described the comments as “irresponsible, reprehensible and racist.”
It’s not the first time Botswana has been stood up to Trump’s America. In December, Botswana kicked against rhetoric from Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations, which suggested that action would be taken against countries that voted against the US in the general assembly vote on the status of Jerusalem.
“Botswana will not be intimidated by such threats and will exercise her sovereign right and vote based on her foreign relations principles,” the country’s government noted in a statement. “The threatening and grossly inappropriate communication, whose purpose would be to undermine the sovereignty of Botswana as an independent country, also demonstrates unprecedented diplomacy,” it added.
From: Quartz 12 January 2018