Some people on Twitter have taken umbrage against a tweet by a former US official comparing President Donald Trump to Zimbabwe’s late leader Robert Mugabe, over his comments alleging fraud, without evidence, in the US election.
Samantha Power, who served as the UN ambassador in the administration of former President Barack Obama, tweeted that Mr Trump was “going full Robert Mugabe”.
Ms Power’s tweet was sent minutes after Mr Trump held a press briefing on Thursday, where he blamed his dwindling chances for re-election on votes cast illegally.
He has been widely criticised for the comments with many saying that he was undermining US democratic systems.
But some Africans on Twitter thought the comparison was a way of Americans pointing fingers at others instead of appreciating the problems in their own country.
Here’s a sample of a few of them:
Subtext: only African elections are like this. Not elections in the sophisticated White west! Your inability to see and acknowledge America's flaws, and try to rebrand this as an African failure is outrageous. No, this is Western democracy behaviour. It's the USA, 100%. Own it.
— Angela Lewis (@GlobalMediaPhD) November 6, 2020
What?
She’s just drawing an analogy between one strongman and another. It’s not as though people haven’t been comparing Trump to western dictators for years as well.
— Brandon McNeice (@brandonmcneice) November 6, 2020
Fix your problems on your own and leave us mind our own business.
— ZANU PF PATRIOTS 🇿🇼 (@zanupf_patriots) November 6, 2020
Can't brush this off as an anomaly. For 4 years the world has watched US politics in shock & it's clear there is a deep rooted problem if nearly 1/2 the country can still vote for him after his crazy first term in office.The question is When will the US get it's next TRUMP?
— Brian.js (@brianoktech) November 6, 2020
Nope, he is just being Trump….. Let us own our own.
— Lindah Oguttu (@lindahoguttu) November 6, 2020
