A rumor that Liberian President Joseph Boakai wrote an open letter to the people of the U.S. offering to teach English to President Donald Trump circulated online in mid-2025. For example, the text appeared in a Facebook post dated July 13 (archived):
The post read (emphasis ours):
In our meeting, President Trump expressed admiration bordering on astonishment for my mastery of the English language, seemingly unaware that English is the official language of Liberia.
For these remarks, President Trump earned an avalanche of mockery from the global media. I believe this reaction was extremely unfair, for the following reasons:
First, it is only natural that the president would be surprised to encounter an African who speaks comprehensibly, since the African he has spent the most time with is Elon Musk.
Second, President Trump is known for many things—his dancing, for example, and his eccentric use of capital letters—but he is not famous for his knowledge of Africa. This is, after all, a man who, in 2017, referred to the African nation of "Nambia"—a mythical land entirely of his own invention.
And third, there is a final reason why President Trump should not be criticized for complimenting my ability to speak English. He himself is living proof that you can be from an English-speaking country and still be unable to speak it.
And so, as a gift to the good people of the United States, I would like to make the following offer: I am willing to return to your country on a regular basis to teach your president English.
The post had gained 632 reactions and 2,600 reshares as of this writing. Some readers seemed to interpret the rumor as a factual recounting of real-life events. "Brilliant! What poise!," one said in comments. "Thank you President Boakai. Please include many other Republican members. Please provide instruction on the definitions of what they are talking about."
Meanwhile, Snopes readers either searched the site or sent emails seeking to confirm the veracity of the letter.
However, there was no evidence Boakai had written such a letter.
Rather, the rumor about Boakai offering to teach Trump how to speak English originated with The Borowitz Report — a newsletter that describes its output as being humorous or satirical in nature. In fact, its author Andy Borowitz is a comedian who wrote a satirical column for The New Yorker for 25 years. Now Borowitz publishes a newsletter on Substack whose About page states:
I've been writing satirical news since I was eighteen. This represents either commitment to a genre or arrested development.
Borowitz's satirical letter followed a July 9, 2025, meeting Trump hosted in the White House with the leaders of Liberia, Senegal, Gabon, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau. During the meeting, Trump complimented Boakai on his excellent English, which is Liberia's official language. Trump's gaffe drew criticism among Liberians and across Africa, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
Snopes has addressed similar satirical claims from The Borowitz Report in the past, including the assertion that Trump threatened to bomb Norway if he wasn't awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and a rumor that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi fired a Department of Justice employee for having a copy of the U.S. Constitution on his desk.
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.