Trump sparked a tourism boom in Ghana when he told congresswomen to 'go back' to where they came from


President Trump's tweets telling four freshmen congresswomen to "go back" to the "totally broken and crime infested places from which they came" had an unexpected and surprising upside: a massive tourism boom in Ghana.
Akwasi Agyeman, the chief executive of the Ghana Tourism Authority, told The Washington Post that after Trump's July tweets, interest in visiting the West African nation surged: "People spoke of booking a trip, he said, as a way to strike back at Trump's words." Applications to visit Ghana this year have reportedly risen from 1,000 per week to 10,000.
Trump's tweets had been directed at Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), all of whom are U.S. citizens. Omar, a Somali refugee and the only one in the group to have actually been born abroad, was visiting Ghana at the time of Trump's attack. She'd tweeted in response: "So grateful for the honor to return to Mother Africa."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In addition to retaliation to Trump, tourists flocked to Ghana in 2019 to honor the "Year of Return," which marked 400 years since the first slave ship reached the state of Virginia; the nation expected "some 500,000 visitors this year, up from 350,000 in 2018," the Christian Science Monitor reports. Celebrity interest, including posts by Cardi B, also enticed Americans across the Atlantic. Many have even moved to Ghana permanently.
"When I think about going home to the States," one Boston emigrant, Pierre Delva, told the Post, "it almost makes me want to cry."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
A potential railway megamerger raises monopoly questions
The Explainer Union-Pacific and Norfolk Southern would create the country's largest railway operator
-
At least 12 dead in Thai-Cambodian clashes
Speed Read Both countries accused the other of firing first
-
Trump executive order targets homeless
Speed Read It will now be easier for states and cities to remove homeless people from the streets
-
Columbia pays $200M to settle with White House
Speed Read The Trump administration accused the school of failing to protect its Jewish students amid pro-Palestinian protests
-
Florida judge and DOJ make Epstein trouble for Trump
Speed Read The Trump administration's request to release grand jury transcripts from the Epstein investigation was denied
-
Trump attacks Obama as Epstein furor mounts
Speed Read The Trump administration accused the Obama administration of 'treasonous' behavior during the 2016 election
-
Trump administration releases MLK files
Speed Read Newly released documents on the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did not hold any new revelations, King historians said
-
Japan's prime minister feels pressure after election losses
Speed Read Shigeru Ishiba has vowed to remain in office
-
President diagnosed with 'chronic venous insufficiency'
Speed Read The vein disorder has given Trump swollen ankles and visible bruising on his hands
-
'Bawdy' Trump letter supercharges Epstein scandal
Speed Read The Wall Street Journal published details of Trump's alleged birthday letter to Epstein