Quick Lead
The summary is AI-generated, and the newsroom was reviewed.
Trump stands up against the South African president on suspicion of killing white farmers.
Ramaphosa denied the allegations and said the genocide allegations were false.
The meeting began actively, discussing golf and trade before tensions rose.
Washington, DC:
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday confronted his South African counterpart in the White House over an inflammatory speech by his latter colleague, calling for the death of white farmers in Africa. This is the second White House confrontation with full media glare – first a duel of words that accused Ukrainian President Zelensky of extending the war.
Hosting African leaders in the White House oval office, President Trump has decided to play an audiovisual clip where the US president has linked South Africa's “white genocide.” President Ramaphosa, who is visibly unhappy about the sudden attack by Donald Trump, has denied such allegations.
A friendly start
South Africa has argued that claims about white people targeted and killed in the country are completely false. Pretoria and Cape Town acknowledge the country's high murder rates, but emphasize that the overwhelming majority of victims are black.
The meeting between the two presidents began with a friendly note, as both leaders said about golf. President Trump also praised South Africa's president for his talent for golf in Africa. Later, President Ramaphosa fostered Trump's latest comfortable word, “T” and tried to discuss trade between the two countries. He also mentioned important mineral trade.
ambush
Both leaders smiled and the discussion went smoothly. President Trump has brought surprise to South African leaders, targeting him with allegations of “white genocide,” one of the most controversial conflict zones between the nations. When Trump asked for the video to play, his head turned.
oh! President Trump has stopped meetings with the South African president and showed videos of prominent South African politicians against white South Africans.
Ramaphosa looked embarrassed. pic.twitter.com/zopuieflhm
– George (@behizytweets) May 21, 2025
President Ramaphosa sat facelessly as it was unfolding. Midway through the video, the South African president turned to get a glimpse of it. Claiming the video is evidence of “white genocide,” Donald Trump said the video showed the graves of thousands of white farmers.
Avoid conflict
In keeping him calm, President Ramaphosa denied seeing this video before. He added that he will find out what the video is and delve deeper into its authenticity.
But President Trump hasn't done it. The US president then displayed a printed copy of an article that claimed to have shown a white man killed in South Africa. He turned the page and President Trump kept saying, “Death, death…”
As President Ramaphosa began speaking, Trump interrupted him, saying that the majority of South African murders were black victims, saying, “But the farmers are not black.”
President Ramaphosa said he wanted to avoid the meeting being a sight.
Trump's sustained attack on South Africa
Since taking office for the second prime minister of the US president, Donald Trump has been openly and critical of South Africa's Land Reform Act, which aims to correct apartheid injustice. By targeting South Africa on suspicion of “white genocide,” President Trump has countered African genocide lawsuits against Israel.
President Trump has doubled his diplomatic attacks on South Africa, canceled aid in recent months and expelled South African ambassadors to the United States. He offered to evacuate white minority Africans based on racist allegations rejected by Pretoria and Cape Town.
Donald Trump directly accused the South African government of “hate rhetoric” against white people in the country, robbing the land of white farmers and not committing violence against minorities.
(Input from Reuters)
