A tense meeting unfolded at the White House as President Donald Trump hosted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Trump suddenly shifted the conversation, showing a video that he claimed was evidence of the genocide of white farmers in South Africa.
The talk had started amiably, but the atmosphere quickly turned awkward. Ramaphosa denied that there was any such genocide happening in his country, specifically against the Afrikaner minority group, who are white South Africans of Dutch descent.
Trump pushed back, saying “we have thousands of stories” about this issue. He then had the lights dimmed and a large TV screen behind the two leaders was turned on, displaying a video. The clip included footage of former South African President Jacob Zuma singing an apartheid-era song calling for the killing of Boers, a term that refers to the Afrikaner people.
Ramaphosa remained calm, emphasizing that the views expressed in the video were not the policy of the South African government. He added that he had never seen the images Trump was showing and wondered where they came from.
The video also showed what Trump claimed were the graves of thousands of white farmers in Africa, marked with white crosses. Ramaphosa stated that while crime was a problem in South Africa, most victims were black.
This conversation is part of a larger narrative in the US, where some on the right have been warning about white genocide in South Africa for years. This idea has gained traction in recent years, particularly after it was discussed by billionaire Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa, and conservative commentator Tucker Carlson.
Trump has repeatedly brought up the topic, calling it “a terrible situation” and claiming it was underreported. He argued that it was the opposite of apartheid, which he called “a horrible thing.”
Ramaphosa countered, referencing the teachings of Nelson Mandela, saying that when there are problems, people should sit down and talk them out. He emphasized that his government was focused on addressing the historical injustices faced by the majority black population during apartheid.
Their meeting occurred just days after a group of about 50 Afrikaners arrived in the US, and Trump has plans to offer them refugee status, despite having suspended refugee admissions from nearly all countries as part of his immigration crackdown.
The relationship between the US and South Africa is currently at a low point since the end of apartheid in 1994. The US has condemned South Africa for taking Israel to the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes in Gaza, cut aid, imposed high tariffs on South African imports, and expelled the South African ambassador for criticizing Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
A significant point of contention is South Africa’s law allowing the government to seize land without compensation to address historical inequalities created during white minority rule. Ramaphosa assured that this law would not be used to arbitrarily take land from white farmers and that all South Africans were protected by the constitution.
However, Trump accused Ramaphosa of allowing land to be taken from white farmers, who were then killed, with no consequences for the perpetrators. Trump claimed that this was a form of reverse racism, where white people were being targeted.
Source: The Guardian