Washington, (EFE).- United States President Donald Trump had a tense meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House on Wednesday, during which he played a video alleging a “genocide” against the white Afrikaner minority in South Africa. Ramaphosa strongly rejected the accusation.
The Oval Office meeting marked one of the most contentious presidential encounters since Trump’s February meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which ended in a heated exchange.
The main focus of the meeting was Trump’s claim that white South African farmers are being persecuted. Despite strict cuts to refugee issions under his istration, the United States recently granted asylum to several Afrikaner families.
Trump introduced Ramaphosa as a “respected, though sometimes controversial figure,” while Ramaphosa suggested a “reset” in bilateral ties.
Clash over refugee claims
Tensions rose when the press questioned the recent arrival of Afrikaner refugees. Trump repeated his belief that white farmers are being persecuted and demanded an explanation.
“These are white farmers fleeing South Africa. It’s very sad. We want answers,” Trump said.
Ramaphosa firmly denied any “Afrikaner genocide,” urging Trump to engage directly with South Africans to understand the reality on the ground.
“If there were a genocide, I assure you these people wouldn’t be here, including my own agriculture minister,” he said, pointing to Afrikaners in his delegation.
Trump responded by citing “thousands of stories” as evidence and played a five-minute video showing African politicians encouraging violence against whites, along with images of crosses and graves supposedly representing murdered farmers.
“I’d like to know where that is because I haven’t seen it,” Ramaphosa responded, visibly uncomfortable.
He acknowledged South Africa’s high crime rate but noted most victims are Black, not white.
He added that while land ownership remains a sensitive issue, South Africa’s Constitution protects property rights while allowing expropriation for public interest.
“They’re being executed, and they’re white, mostly farmers. I don’t know how else to explain it,” Trump insisted.
At one point, Ramaphosa joked, “I don’t have a plane to give you,” referencing a private jet gifted to Trump by Qatar, which the US accepted earlier that day.
Golf diplomacy and diplomatic fallout
Tensions began to ease when renowned Afrikaner golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, ired by Trump and part of the South African delegation, intervened without endorsing the genocide claims.
The recent arrival of 49 Afrikaner refugees in the US has further strained ties between Washington and Pretoria.
In March, Trump suspended all US aid to South Africa, accusing the country of seizing white-owned farms and adopting an anti-Israel stance at the International Court of Justice, where Pretoria has accused Israel of genocide in Gaza.
South Africa’s new expropriation law, ed earlier this year, allows land seizures without compensation in cases deemed in the public interest, as part of efforts to address apartheid-era inequalities.
Also in March, South Africa’s ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool, was expelled and declared persona non grata after publicly criticizing Trump.
Citing ongoing “discrimination against Afrikaners,” Trump has vowed to boycott any G20 events hosted by South Africa, which is set to hold the G20 leaders’ summit in Johannesburg on November 22–23.
“Without the United States, I don’t think it’s much of a summit anymore,” Trump said. EFE
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