Trump says he doesn't know what 'the Congo' is - that may explain why one Congo is on his travel ban and other isn't

[Eugene]

Source: The Independent

Trump says he doesn’t know what ‘the Congo’ is – that may explain why one Congo is on his travel ban and other isn’t

Countries subject to the travel bans have urged Trump to reconsider restrictions

Ariana Baio
in New York
Thursday 05 June 2025 19:34 BST

Among the 19 countries President Donald Trump has issued a travel ban on is the Republic of the Congo, which, until now, the president has not singled out as a particular issue.

Trump has accused “the Congo” – the informal name for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a much larger country located next to the Republic of the Congo – of releasing prisoners into the United States.

“Many, many people come from the Congo,” Trump said during a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni last month. “I don’t know what that is, but they came from the Congo.”

The DRC has firmly denied those allegations.

Yet, the White House placed the Republic of the Congo, not the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on its restrictive travel ban list – saying Republic of the Congo visa holders overstay by a rate, on average, of 29 percent.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-travel-ban-list-drc-congo-b2764361.html