ALBAWABA- In a tense and unusual Oval Office meeting on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with incendiary claims of “white genocide” targeting Afrikaner farmers.
According to multiple sources, Trump ordered the lights dimmed and played a video for Ramaphosa that included controversial footage of South African politician Julius Malema allegedly calling for violence against the country’s white minority, as well as scenes of roadside memorials for murdered white farmers.
Trump accused the South African government of enabling the expropriation and killing of white landowners, saying, “They take your land and they kill you,” based on claims made by South African contacts.
The confrontation occurred in front of several officials, including billionaire Elon Musk, a South Africa-born key adviser to Trump.
Ramaphosa pushed back firmly, stating that the rhetoric in the video does not reflect official government policy: “Our government policy is completely, completely against what he was saying.”
Tensions between the U.S. and South Africa have grown in recent months, especially following South Africa’s leading role in bringing a genocide case against Israel before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Some analysts view Trump’s increasingly hostile posture toward Pretoria as retaliatory pressure over the ICC proceedings, accusing Washington of politically blackmailing South Africa for its stance on Israel.
The episode echoes Trump’s erratic and provocative behavior in other high-profile diplomatic meetings, including a previous encounter with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, where Trump’s unfiltered diplomacy in front of cameras drew widespread criticism.
