The recent diplomatic visit of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to meet with Donald Trump seemed to have a very different objective from the official one from the start, as moments before the meeting, unusual movements were observed in the hallways of the White House, as reported by CNN. In addition, two large screens were unexpectedly moved to the Oval Office.
Therefore, the formal and even light conversation that the two political leaders were having quickly turned into a tense exchange in the face of Trump’s unfounded accusations, such as claiming there is a “genocide” against the Afrikaner minority.
Several US media outlets have described Trump and his team of advisors’ attitude as a “ambush” towards the president of South Africa.
The White House orchestrated Trump’s ambush of the South African president in the Oval Office, titled CNN, while MSNBC columnist Jen Psaki said that “Trump embarrasses himself with another ambush of a foreign leader in the Oval Office.” The New York Times, the most important newspaper in the United States, also spoke of an “ambush.”
What did Trump say to the president of South Africa?
A few minutes into the meeting, Trump ordered the lights to be dimmed and started playing a video that, according to his words, supported his allegations of supposed systematic attacks against the white community in South Africa.
Ramaphosa, accustomed to high-level political negotiation, did not hide his confusion at the scene. In silence, he watched as Trump displayed printed articles and headlines, in an attempt to validate his persistent claim that white farmers in South Africa are victims of murders and mass expropriations.
The meeting turned into a visual argument presentation by the US president, who has been giving visibility to these theories for months, without conclusive support from international organizations or independent media. Just days before, the Trump administration had approved the entry of nearly sixty white South Africans with refugee status, a situation that has been denied to citizens of other countries, especially Latin Americans.
Trump even set aside other topics on the bilateral agenda, such as trade or investment, to focus on his unfounded accusations, which were refuted by a composed Ramaphosa, who never seemed to lose his composure despite the uncomfortable moment he had to experience in front of the cameras.
Also present in the room was South African entrepreneur Elon Musk, who has recently become an ultra-right activist and has also spread false accusations through his social media channels.
After the video projection and the display of the printed articles, the White House distributed the materials through its social media channels.
Are Trump’s accusations real?
The video presented during the meeting showed rows of white crosses in a rural setting, which Trump interpreted as evidence of mass burials of white farmers. However, the crosses were part of a protest for the murder of Glen and Vida Rafferty in 2020. According to statements collected by the BBC, it was not a cemetery, but a temporary memorial.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. In 2023, the country recorded over 26,000 murders. Of these, 44 occurred in rural areas, and eight victims were farmers. There are no official statistics by race in this regard. The Transvaal Agricultural Union, which collects data on farm attacks, indicated that in 2023, 23 white people and nine black people died in such incidents. In the current year, three white and four black individuals have been reported as victims.
Trump also showed another image of a newspaper article that he described as a cemetery of white farmers. However, the photograph does not correspond to South Africa. It was taken in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, as part of a report on gender-based violence. The AFP agency verified its origin, later confirmed by the BBC.