GENEVA: Former US President Ronald Reagan described African delegates at the UN as “monkeys” in 1971 when he was governor of California in newly released tapes published by The Atlantic.
He made the racist comment on the telephone to then-President Richard Nixon, who infamously recorded all his calls.
The governor was angered that African delegates at the UN had sided against the US in a vote to recognize China and expel Taiwan.
After the vote, members of the Tanzanian delegation had started dancing in the UN General Assembly.
When Mr Reagan called up Mr Nixon the next day, he asked if he had watched the vote on television.
He then goes on to say:
“To see those, those monkeys from those African countries – damn them, they’re still uncomfortable wearing shoes!”
The recording was unearthed by Tim Naftali, a clinical associate professor of history at New York University, who had directed the Nixon Presidential Library, which kept all Mr Nixon’s tapes, from 2007 until 2011.
(with inputs from BBC)
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