How Trump Confronted African President With 'White Persecution' Claims

A meeting meant to ease the relationship between South Africa and the United States spiralled when US President Donald Trump ambushed the South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, by playing him a video that he claimed proved genocide was being committed against white people under "the opposite of apartheid". 

The extraordinary stunt on Wednesday led to another tense Oval Office encounter since Trump had a showdown with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February. However, Ramaphosa, who had earlier said he was visiting the White House to "reset" relations with the US, disputed Trump's claims and suggested they "talk about it very calmly".

The encounter came a week after the US granted asylum to nearly 60 Afrikaners-- a White minority in South Africa who are mostly descended from Dutch colonists who ruled the African nation during decades of racial apartheid. Trump has long claimed Afrikaners are being persecuted in South Africa, an allegation rejected by South Africa. 

How The Encounter Enfolded 

With reporters present, 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. 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 Trump falsely said showed their graves.

 "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," Trump said.

Donald Trump is a demented, stupid racist who has been psyopped by Elon Musk to believe wholeheartedly in “white genocide.” When corrected, he goes off on a rant about his Qatari jet.

The President of South Africa, a literal saint: “I'm sorry, I don't have a plane to give you.” https://t.co/XREXD0f9gf pic.twitter.com/mHVZK0Ua8e

— Jim Stewartson, Antifascist 🇨🇦🇺🇦🏴‍☠️🇺🇸 (@jimstewartson) May 21, 2025

He also showed news clippings that he said backed up his claims -- although one actually featured a photo from the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

"Death, death, death. Horrible death," said Trump.

Initially, the South African president appeared stunned by Trump's move, but he stayed calm, avoiding the kind of row with Trump, like one he had with Zelensky. However, Ramaphosa disputed Trump's allegations about his country confiscating land from white farmers under a land expropriation law signed in January that aims to redress the historical inequalities of apartheid rule.

"No, no, no, no," Ramaphosa responded. "Nobody can take land."

He also insisted that most victims of South Africa's notoriously high crime rate are black and said the politicians in the video were from the opposition.

At one point, Ramaphosa pleaded that they "talk about it very calmly." "We were taught by Nelson Mandela that whenever there are problems, people need to sit down around the table and talk about them," he said.

"We are essentially here to reset the relationship between the United States and South Africa," Ramaphosa added.

The South African leader later tried to put a brave face on the meeting, saying it was a "great success" and that he still expected Trump to attend a G20 summit in Johannesburg in November. He also said he did not think Trump fully believes there's a genocide against whites despite the video.

"In the end, I mean, I do believe that there is this doubt and disbelief in his head about all this," Ramaphosa told reporters.

Elon Musk Effect?

Since taking office for the second term, the Trump administration administration has torn into South Africa, slamming its 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 (MAGA) movement.

The visit by the South African leader had been billed as a chance to repair relations following unfounded genocide claims by Trump and his billionaire, South African-born ally, Elon Musk. 

Musk, who was also in the Oval Office, has been a key driver of the "white genocide" claims. The billionaire had accused the South African government of blocking his Starlink internet service from operating in the country because the company didn't comply with Black ownership laws.

The South African government was reportedly preparing to offer a workaround plan to allow Musk's venture to operate in the country as an attempt to generate goodwill with the US administration before the talks began.