- Dhaka
Trump Ambushes South African President Over ‘Genocide’ Accusations
President Donald Trump ambushed his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, on Wednesday by playing a video he claimed proved that white people in South Africa are victims of genocide, prompting some farmers to flee to the United States.
The surprising move turned what is typically a formal diplomatic setting in the Oval Office into a dramatic scene, with Trump asserting that white farmers in South Africa are being forced off their land and murdered.
In front of reporters, Trump directed his staff to play a four-minute video on a large screen, claiming it showed black South African politicians calling for violence against white people.
“You allow them to take the land, and when they take the land, they kill the white farmer. And when they kill the white farmer, nothing happens to them,” Trump declared.
He also displayed news clippings he said supported his claims — although one featured a photo from the Democratic Republic of Congo, not South Africa.
“Death, death, death. Horrible death,” Trump added.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration granted refugee status to more than 50 white Afrikaners, even as it continues to limit asylum admissions for most other global applicants.
Ramaphosa disputed Trump’s claims. Although initially taken aback by the incident, he remained composed and avoided any confrontation similar to Trump’s past public clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Awkward Exchanges
Ramaphosa denied that South Africa seizes land from white farmers under the land expropriation law signed in January, which aims to address historical inequalities from the apartheid era.
“No, no, no, no,” Ramaphosa responded. “Nobody can take land.”
He also noted that the majority of victims of South Africa’s high crime rate are black citizens, and added that the politicians shown in the video were members of the opposition party.
The visit had been promoted as a diplomatic opportunity to repair relations strained by Trump’s and his ally Elon Musk’s unfounded claims of white genocide in South Africa. Musk, who is South African-born and was present at the meeting, has played a major role in spreading such narratives.
Ramaphosa arrived at the White House accompanied by top South African golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen in a bid to appeal to Trump, a known golf enthusiast.
“We are essentially here to reset the relationship between the United States and South Africa,” Ramaphosa stated.
However, during the video presentation, Ramaphosa repeatedly struggled to speak, often being talked over by Trump. “Where is this?” he asked, visibly uncomfortable as the footage played.
The video included firebrand opposition lawmaker Julius Malema chanting “Kill the Boer, kill the farmer” — a slogan rooted in South Africa’s apartheid-era resistance. It ended with scenes from a protest where white crosses were placed along a road to symbolize murdered farmers — which Trump mistakenly claimed were their actual graves.
Golf Diplomacy
Despite the awkward moments, Ramaphosa later described the meeting as a “great success” and said he still expected Trump to attend the G20 summit in Johannesburg in November.
Since the beginning of Trump’s second term, his administration has taken a harsher stance against South Africa — criticizing its case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, cutting foreign aid, imposing 31% tariffs, and expelling South Africa’s ambassador after he condemned Trump’s “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement.
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