Donald Trump called Lesotho a country "no one has ever heard of" when defending cuts in US aid, during a speech to Congress on Tuesday.
He pointed out a previous American aid project worth eight million dollars to promote LGBTQ rights in the African nation of Lesotho.
"That no one has ever heard of", he added.
"Shocked"
The government of Lesotho is "shocked and humiliated" over the statement and will send an official protest letter to Washington.
We did not expect a head of state to refer to another sovereign nation in such a way, says Foreign Minister Lejone Mpotjoane.
On platform X, the reactions did not wait:
"Lesotho is the only country in the world that lies entirely above 1,000 meters in height, higher than your opinion polls have ever been", writes journalist and activist Kananelo Boloetse on platform X and adds;
"We are here, we are proud and we are not your punchline", he writes.
Unclear which aid program
Exactly which aid program Trump referred to is unclear.
On the website for American foreign aid, there is no economic support for LGBTQ rights in Lesotho listed.
However, approximately 120 million dollars were spent on "health and population programs" in the country in 2024, including 43.5 million dollars to combat HIV/AIDS.
The small mountain kingdom with 2.3 million inhabitants in southern Africa has one of the highest rates of the disease in the world, where nearly one in four adults is HIV-positive.
