Africa and the Trump Administration

 AllAfrica.com posted on 23 October 2025 a commentary titled "Africa Should Not Expect Much from Donald Trump" by Johnnie Carson, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs during the Obama administration.  

Carson looks back and forwards, concluding that the Trump administration will be minimally engaged in Africa as programs from previous administrations shut down.  

Secretary Blinken Refocuses US Africa Policy

 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave a major speech on US Africa policy in Abuja, Nigeria on 19 November 2021.

He identified the main pillars of the Biden administration policy on Africa.  The speech made no direct mention of China, a significant break from the Trump administration, although it did warn of opaque infrastructure deals and the rise of authoritarianism around the world.

Blinken said explicitly the United States does not want Africa to limit its partnership with other countries.  It just wants to make partnerships with the United States even stronger.  Washington does not want to make Africa choose partners, but rather to give Africa choices.  

The Washington Post covered the speech on 19 November 2021 in an article titled "Blinken Lays Out U.S. Policy toward Africa and Deliberately Avoids Mentioning China" by John Hudson.  

The New York Times covered the speech on 19 November 2021 in an article titled "China's Influence Looms Over Blinken's Africa Visit" by Michael Crowley.  

Spite Won't Beat China in Africa

Foreign Policy posted on 23 January 2019 a commentary titled "Spite Won't Beat China in Africa" by Lina Benabdallah, Wake Forest University.

The author concluded that rather than reducing U.S.-Africa policy to a reaction to China-Africa relations, the Trump administration would be better off cultivating durable and stable relationships with all African countries, not just the ones that matter to its rivalry with China.

US Policy in Africa

Tibor Nagy, assistant secretary of state for African affairs, testified on 12 December 2018 before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on US policy towards Africa. His remarks were titled "Development, Diplomacy, and Defense: Promoting U.S. Interests in Africa."

Nagy repeated many of the Africa policy themes that were common in previous administrations. There was one change concerning China, which he said is asserting itself in Africa economically, militarily, and politically. As a result, the US must remain a positive alternative, and make clear that engaging with the United States will mean greater prosperity and security for Africa.

Africa and the Trump Administration: A Clean Slate

The Hill published on 21 November 2016 a commentary titled "A Consensus Play: The Opportunity of Africa for a Trump Administration" by K. Riva Levinson, president of a Washington-based consultancy.

She argues that the Trump administration has a clean slate on Africa and this may offer an opportunity to continue in a bipartisan way with the best of previous Democratic and Republican administrations such as the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, Millennium Challenge Corporation, Global Entrepreneurship Summit, Young African Leaders Initiative, Power Africa, and PEPFAR.