Trump says no one has heard of Lesotho. But Musk is trying to do business in the African nation

MASERU, Lesotho — U.S. President Donald Trump says no one has ever heard of Lesotho. The foreign minister of the small African kingdom tells The Associated Press that Trump should “speak for himself.”

“It is surprising and disappointing that he claimed no one knows Lesotho, especially given that the U.S. has an embassy here,” minster Lejone Mpotjoane said, a day after Trump’s dismissive comment in a speech to Congress caused some laughter. “He should speak for himself and not generalize.”

Mpotjoane said Trump appeared to pick on Lesotho because it isn’t a rich country but warned: “One day America may need Lesotho’s support.”

In fact, Trump’s key adviser Elon Musk has already sought it.

Trump mocked Lesotho while criticizing some U.S. foreign aid contracts as a waste of money in his 99-minute speech on Tuesday.

“Eight million dollars to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of,” Trump said, struggling to pronounce the name correctly as Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson, sitting behind him, grinned.

But Musk in September was meeting with Lesotho's prime minister, Sam Matekane, while trying to do business with the southern African nation.

Musk’s Starlink internet satellite service, a subsidiary of SpaceX, has applied for a license to operate in Lesotho. It's one of several African countries where it is bidding to win contracts. The Lesotho Communications Authority said last month it recently received Starlink's bid for a 10-year license.

Musk was born in South Africa, which surrounds Lesotho and its 2.3 million people.

He met with Matekane on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Matekane posted a photo on X of them shaking hands. The message said in part: “Exciting developments lie ahead.”

Musk has been instrumental in the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development in his role as head of the new Department of Government Efficiency.

Those cuts have threatened Lesotho’s HIV program and forced it to lay off at least 1,500 health workers — about 7% of the country’s health staff — in what the government has described as a severe blow. U.S. aid has been credited with helping Lesotho provide life-saving treatment to more than 200,000 people living with HIV.

Lesotho has received American assistance for nearly 20 years through USAID, which gave it over $44 million last year. The dismantling of the agency and widespread terminations of U.S. foreign aid contracts have hit Africa harder than any other region.

Lesotho's foreign minister, asked about Trump's comment on promoting LGBTQI+ in his country, said he was not aware of the $8 million contract Trump mentioned because USAID funding was largely channeled through non-governmental organizations. The minister didn’t comment on the U.S. aid cuts.

Lesotho repealed its laws against homosexuality in 2012 but same-sex marriages are still not recognized, and activists say LGBTQ people face stigma and discrimination.

This wasn't the first time Trump has been disparaging about Africa. During his first term, he used a crude expletive that refers to a pit latrine to describe some African countries.

___

Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa.