Trump ambushes South Africa’s president over ‘genocide’ accusation
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US President Donald Trump (right) meeting South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House on May 21.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
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WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump ambushed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on May 21 by playing him a video that he claimed proved genocide is being committed against white people, driving farmers to flee to the United States.
The extraordinary stunt turned the usually staid diplomatic setting of the Oval Office into a stage for Mr Trump’s contention that white South African farmers are being forced off their land and killed.
With reporters present, Mr Trump had staff put the four-minute video on a large screen, saying it showed black South African politicians calling for the persecution of white people.
“You do allow them to take land, and then when they take the land, they kill the white farmer, and when they kill the white farmer, nothing happens to them,” Mr Trump said.
Mr Trump also showed news clippings that he said backed up his claims – one of which actually featured a photo from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The South African President denied that his country confiscates land from white farmers under a land expropriation law signed in January that aims to redress the historical inequalities of white minority rule.
“No, no, no, no,” Mr Ramaphosa responded. “Nobody can take land.”
He also insisted that most victims of South Africa’s notoriously high crime rate are black.
Awkward exchange
The visit by the South African leader had been billed as a chance to smooth out relations following unfounded genocide claims by Mr Trump and his South African-born ally, billionaire Elon Musk.
Mr Musk, who was also in the Oval Office, has been a key driver of the “white genocide” claims.
“We are essentially here to reset the relationship between the United States and South Africa,” Mr Ramaphosa said.
But Mr Ramaphosa was left repeatedly trying to speak as the video played, even as Mr Trump drowned him out.
“Where is this?” added the South African President as he shuffled awkwardly in his seat.
In the video, firebrand far-left opposition lawmaker Julius Malema was shown singing “Kill the Boer, kill the farmer” – an infamous chant dating back to the apartheid-era fight against white-minority rule.
The video finished with images of a protest in South Africa where white crosses were placed along a rural roadside to represent murdered farmers – but which Mr Trump falsely said showed their graves.
At one point, Mr Ramaphosa pleaded that they “talk about it very calmly”.
The South African leader later tried to put a brave face on the meeting, saying he still expected Mr Trump to attend a Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg in November.
He added that they “didn’t dwell” on the issue of violence against whites during their lunch and that US and South African officials would hold talks on trade issues.
“So all in all, I do believe that our visit here has been a great success,” he said.
Golf diplomacy
Mr Ramaphosa had arrived at the White House with two of South Africa’s top golfers, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, in a bid to woo the golf-loving US President.
The support of the high-profile Afrikaners in Mr Ramaphosa’s delegation came days after around 50 Afrikaners arrived in the United States
Mr Trump made the offer despite the United States having halted arrivals of asylum seekers from most of the rest of the world as he cracks down on migration.
The Oval Office stunt revived memories of the notorious incident in February when Mr Trump and Vice-President J.D. Vance berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
But Mr Ramaphosa appeared to be better prepared, staying calm and pushing his calls for improved relations.
The two golfers also sought to calm the waters when Mr Trump asked them to speak.
“We want to see things get better in our home country. That’s the bottom line,” said four-time major winner Els.
On May 12, a group of around 50 white South Africans arrived in the US to take up Mr Trump’s offer of “refuge”.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Mr Trump’s administration has torn into South Africa since the US President began his second term in office.
It has slammed South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza at the International Court of Justice, cut foreign aid, announced 31 per cent tariffs, and expelled Pretoria’s ambassador after he criticised Trump’s Make America Great Again movement. AFP
