logo
Trump ambushes Ramaphosa with videos to back his 'white genocide' claims

Trump ambushes Ramaphosa with videos to back his 'white genocide' claims

IOL News21-05-2025

President Cyril Ramaphosa and US President Donald Trump had a discussion about bilateral relations on Wednesday evening.
Image: GCIS / Se-Anne Rall
US President Donald Trump glossed over discussions on foreign direct investment in his discussions with President Cyril Ramaphosa in Washington last night, instead focusing on his repeated claims that White South African farmers were victims of genocide in South Africa.
Trump appeared to have ambushed Ramaphosa by playing a series of video clips of EFF leader Julius Malema singing "Kill the Boer" and other songs related to the killing of white people.
'Now, this is very bad," said Trump, pointing to the burial sites of white farmers shown in the clip.
'It is a terrible sight. I have never seen anything like this,' he said.
Prior to Trump instructing for the montage of video clips to be played, Ramaphosa said that he would allow, in a separate meeting, his delegation which included billionaire and founder of Remgro, Johann Rupert and golfers Ernie Else and Retief Goosen to explain in their own words that the idea of a white genocide in South Africa, was a myth.
Ramaphosa was joined by Minister of Agriculture and DA leader John Steenhuisen, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau and Cosatu President Zingiswa Losi.
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Advertisement
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Next
Stay
Close ✕
Ramaphosa was trying to dismiss the allegations of a white genocide when Trump interjected, saying while he heard what Ramaphosa was saying, his administration was being inundated with the rhetoric of white people being killed in South Africa.
"We have thousands of stories talking about it and we have documentaries, we have news stories, I could show you a couple of things, I mean it has to be responded to," he told Ramaphosa.
Trump then was handed articles he said were stories on the murders of White African farmers as the video montage was played.
The first clip showed Malema in parliament where he said that black people would occupy land in the country and that 'no permission from you, from the president, from no-one' was needed for this to happen.
In another clip, Malema said 'You must never be scared to kill. A revolution demands that at some point there must be killing because the killing is part of a revolutionary act,' before singing the "Kill the Boer" song.
Ramaphosa responded to the video clips and the articles that Trump held, saying that he should listen to the stories of people like Els, Goosen and Rupert to determine if there was a White genocide in South Africa.
'But when we have talks between us around a quiet table it will take President Trump to listen to them, I'm not going to be repeating what I've been saying, I would say if there was Afrikaner farmer genocide I can bet you these three gentlemen would not be here, including my minister of agriculture, he would not be with me,' said Ramaphosa.
During their interactions with the media, Ramaphosa said the US and South Africa are longstanding partners and the two countries need to reset their relationship.
However, Trump said there were a lot of people who were concerned with regard to South Africa, adding that many feel persecuted.
He said that thousands of people were fleeing to the US because their land was being taken.
'They are white farmers and they feel that they are going to die in South Africa. People are fleeing from South Africa for their own safety,' he said.
Ramaphosa asked Steenhuisen to address the issue, who said that although there was a rural safety problem in SA, the majority of farmers want to stay in the country.
Steenhuisen echoed the sentiments, adding that as the Agriculture Minister, he was working with police to address the problem.
He said the DA had joined hands with Ramaphosa and the ANC to keep the EFF and the uMkhonto weSizwe Party out of government, adding that the Government of National Unity needed the help of international allies.
Cosatu president Losi also tried to convince Trump about the need for beneficial trade relations, saying about 500,000 jobs would wiped out if AGOA is repealed. Losi emphasised that there was no expropriation without compensation taking place in the country.
The EFF last night responded to the montage of video clips played at the meeting, "the meeting, which came under the pretext of discussing diplomatic, trade and economic relations, ended up being a discussion about the President and Commander in Chief of the EFF Julius Malema and his correct and principled position regarding the return of the land to African people, and the return of the means of production into the hands of the African majority".
"Trump proceeded to play numerous clips of the President of the EFF wherein our leader spoke correctly about the unequal distribution of land in South Africa and sang the chant 'Kill The Boer, Kill The Farmer', which is a song that expresses the desire to destroy the system of white minority control over the resources of South Africa," the party said in a statement.
The EFF said "the dominance of white male voices in the entire interaction", proves to the party that the delegation sought to make assurances to Trump that the transformation agenda of South Africa is one that can be compromised.
"All of the utterances by Ramaphosa's delegation point to a devious plot to rekindle relations with a maniacal Trump administration by sacrificing our sovereignty at the alter of convenience," the statement read.
Governance expert and political analyst, Sandile Swana, described the meeting as chaotic, adding that he hoped that the actual meeting and negotiations about bilateral talks would take place secretly.
'But for now, what is happening is that Trump is using information that is procured by dubious sources and that cannot withstand the academic test.
"It is unfortunate. But we need to be happy that Ramaphosa agreed to the meeting and he can only do his best. but Trump was determined to do exactly what he intended,' Swana said.
Earlier this year, Trump signed an executive order targeting South Africa by formally cutting off aid to the country and attacking it for human rights abuses. The order also said the US would have a policy to promote the resettlement of Afrikaner refugees escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination.
In April, Trump rolled out a global tariff scheme, slapping South Africa with a hefty 30% on exports.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Ramaphosa to have second meeting with Trump at G7 Summit in Canada
Ramaphosa to have second meeting with Trump at G7 Summit in Canada

Daily Maverick

time3 hours ago

  • Daily Maverick

Ramaphosa to have second meeting with Trump at G7 Summit in Canada

The President said he would also have meetings with the chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, and the prime minister of Canada, Mark Carney. President Cyril Ramaphosa says he will have a meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) Summit in Canada at the weekend. Speaking to reporters in Pretoria on Tuesday, Ramaphosa said he would also have separate meetings with the chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, and the prime minister of Canada, Mark Carney. The G7 Summit will take place in Kananaskis, Canada, from 14 to 17 June. Canada, which holds the G7 presidency, invited Ramaphosa to the meeting. The President told reporters that attending the G7 was a 'great opportunity' from which Pretoria expected 'good outcomes'. 'I'm hoping that when we meet the various other leaders of various countries who are part of the G7, we'll be able to interact meaningfully with them.' He said the G7 Summit gave Pretoria the opportunity to 'propagate' its message about its G20 presidency and the 'great outcomes' it wanted to see in November. The US will take over the presidency of the G20 from SA after the summit. 'We're going to use it as a platform to begin to consolidate what we want to achieve in November when the leaders' summit takes place here [in Johannesburg],' Ramaphosa told reporters. — Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) June 10, 2025 Ramaphosa's second meeting with Trump will take place three weeks after he met the US president in the White House on 21 May. The meeting followed months of worsening diplomatic ties between Washington and Pretoria, and false claims from Trump about a white 'genocide' in South Africa. 'Our visit to the White House was a moment where South Africa set out to reset the relationship with the United States, and I do believe that we have achieved that. 'Many people were very critical of our going there, and some were even saying we were going cap in hand and what-have-you — we were not. Some were even suggesting that we were summoned. We were not summoned. In my telephone conversation with President Trump two weeks earlier, I said, 'I want to come and see you', and he immediately conceded to that and later gave us a date. So that is not summoning. It is us taking the initiative that we want to go and see him,' said Ramaphosa. He stressed that SA did not 'go kowtowing' to the White House, but went with the aims of resetting US-SA relations and beginning 'serious engagement' with the US, particularly regarding trade and its participation in SA's G20 processes. While in the US, Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau had proposed a wide-ranging trade deal to his counterpart, the US trade representative, spanning areas including gas, agriculture, automotive and minerals. Ramaphosa's spokesperson last week said that SA was awaiting a response to this proposal. 'Right now, there is engagement that is taking place between the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition and the Department of International Relations, so we've opened the way for us to engage seriously with the United States,' Ramaphosa told reporters. He added that the discussions on trade matters were 'now under way'. In his three-hour working visit with Trump, Ramaphosa had made the point that the US had been at the forefront of creating the G20, and so it would be important for Trump to be present when Ramaphosa handed over the G20 presidency to the US in November this year. 'Of course, the other [reason to go to the US] was to demonstrate the importance of President Trump coming to South Africa for the G20, and he immediately conceded that, yes, the G20 without the United States — who originated the G20 process — is not so effective as it is with the G7. He's going to the G7; I expect him to come to the G20 here. 'For us, it's important for us as a nation to reposition ourselves in the very turbulent geopolitical architecture or situation that we have, and that is why it was important to go to the United States,' he said. DM

Trump has manufactured a national crisis that could come to define his presidency
Trump has manufactured a national crisis that could come to define his presidency

Daily Maverick

time3 hours ago

  • Daily Maverick

Trump has manufactured a national crisis that could come to define his presidency

Protests in Los Angeles over ICE actions are the lead national news story. So far, there is no prospect that the crisis is at an end. Meanwhile, the Trump administration decided on a show of military strength — but has no plans for an endgame to the crisis. 'Never let a good crisis go to waste' is a cynical view of politics attributed to Winston Churchill — and repeated by other politicians ever since. What we are now learning is that US President Donald Trump has added a far more cynical setup line: the best crises are the ones you create yourself to further your political purposes. The Trump administration essentially manufactured a national crisis over immigration — with ground zero in Los Angeles — and is now using the resulting protests to support his outrage and precipitate actions. To address a series of demonstrations in Los Angeles, he ordered the dispatch of a contingent of US Marines there and the call-up and federalising of some 4,000 National Guard personnel, wading into the ongoing crisis in Los Angeles and putatively setting up a way he could take the credit for stilling the demonstrations. For bonus points, this would set up the landscape for blaming California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass — both Democrats — if events go off the rails before the crisis winds down. The Trump administration, of course, has had a long-running feud with Newsom over the handling of major forest fires and the distribution of crucial water resources, and with Los Angeles over its apparent inability to move quickly enough to save neighbourhoods destroyed by the fires. Some officials close to the president have muttered about arresting the California governor over his behaviour and words; meanwhile, the governor is suing the federal government and its chief executive for arrogating the state government's powers. It might — might not — be a coincidence, but Trump seems to see Newsom as a likely challenger for the Democrats in 2028's presidential election and damaging him would be good, albeit cynical, politics. The flood of illegal immigrants/undocumented aliens into the US and the presumably damaging impact on the economy, jobs and the general welfare was a key element of Trump's reelection campaign in 2020. Throughout that effort, he cited imaginary numbers of millions of immigrants (and those mythic Haitians eating pet puppies and kittens). Once in office, he has insisted upon more dramatic enforcement of arrests and mass deportations. This has reportedly included giving ICE — the Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Department of Homeland Security — quotas of several thousand individuals a day to be rounded up. That led to vigorous efforts to round up suspects in factories and restaurant kitchens, or at the parking lots of big-box hardware stores where handymen, bricklayers, plumbers and electricians congregate, waiting for contractors to hire them early in the day. This, in turn, has led to increased fears among those whose papers were not in order. In the newest wrinkle, while not directly related to the ICE roundups, but contributing to the fear, the Trump administration has issued a total freeze on visas to enter the US for a range of nations. (The recent anti-Semitic attack in Boulder, Colorado, carried out by an Egyptian immigrant apparently served as a pretext for the move, although Egypt was not, curiously, on the list of affected nations.) Crowd control In Los Angeles, a rising number of people — immigrants, their family members, and supporters, including labour union leaders — rallied to protest against the ICE roundups. The protests initially centred on the part of the city that housed federal government office buildings, including a major courthouse. The Los Angeles police were called out in force to protect the buildings and exercise crowd control, but without ending the demonstrations. While the protests seemed rowdy, they were, at least initially, largely non-violent. As events moved on through the weekend, some in the crowd threw water bottles, stones and firecrackers at police, several Waymo autonomous vehicles were set alight, and there was some damage to fixed property. Not surprisingly, the protests received blanket coverage on news channels and in other media, and the potential of wider violence was presumably the precipitating cause for the Trump administration's thinking in seeing a path for action, even though city and state authorities — acting in close coordination — insisted they were well-practised in crowd control and had sufficient human resources to deal with the situation. The Trump administration seized the moment, however, and announced, without any collaboration with city and state authorities, that they would call up 2,000 National Guard troops. They then doubled that number. In addition, they deployed a substantial detachment of Marines to Los Angeles — even though using the Marines for law enforcement is illegal. For his part, Trump said these deployments were crucial lest the city be 'burning to the ground'. One surely must wonder why Trump did not move with the same alacrity in the insurrection in Washington, DC, at the Capitol Building in January 2021 in response to his false claim that he had been cheated of victory in the presidential election. One major problem in this was that the call-up of the National Guard was done without consultation with the state government, under which control of a state's National Guard units resides. The normal process is for a state governor to call upon units in times of major natural disasters or civil disorder, as with Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans a generation ago. Elements of the California National Guard were called to duty in the rioting that took place in 1992 in the wake of the police assault on Rodney King, but not precipitously at the whim of the president. 'Insurrection' As a final resort, if the need arises, a president can federalise National Guard units to call them to service in civil duties, especially in the event of an insurrection or foreign invasion, according to the law. (Trump has kept up the drumbeat of using the word 'insurrection', probably to provide backstopping of the federalising and mobilising of National Guard troops.) Historically, perhaps the most extraordinary version of such things took place in 1957, when President Dwight Eisenhower federalised the Arkansas National Guard over the objections of the then governor to enforce the desegregation of that state's public schools, in accord with the 1954 Supreme Court decision Brown v Board of Education. Arkansas had failed to heed the court's ruling, and its governor egged on increasingly violent anti-integration demonstrations. More generally, over the past several decades, National Guard and regular Army/Navy/Air Force reserve units have been integrated into the defence department's table of organisation. Such units have been called to serve abroad in military activities as partners to regular active duty forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is important to note that National Guard personnel have usually been well-trained in dealing with civil disorder, demonstrations and protests. Accordingly, making use of such personnel is not, in and of itself, a terrible choice. This writer enlisted in the Maryland National Guard back in the early 1970s in an infantry unit — to stay out of the military draft that would have certainly sent him to Vietnam. After basic and advanced infantry training, his training unit spent a full week rehearsing the ins and outs of anti-riot duty techniques not based on using lethal force. (We alternated in being riot control troops and rioting students — the verisimilitude was compelling.) Such training had been put into place for those in National Guard units as a consequence of the killings at Kent State University in 1970 by poorly trained Ohio National Guard troops who used live ammunition, as well as the killings of several other students at a college in South Carolina the same week. At the time of writing, it seems the demonstrations in Los Angeles have continued, but at a lower level of intensity. However, demonstrations in support of the protests in Los Angeles have been set for more than a dozen cities across the nation. This movement is not at an end. Disconcerting week All this has been taking place during a particularly disconcerting week for Trump's presidency. There was the raucous, wild, childlike breakup with his heretofore 'Dogester' partner, Elon Musk. Concurrently, there is growing dissatisfaction with the 'Big Beautiful Bill' of tax cuts and government spending, not least from Musk, who called it an 'abomination'. It has become increasingly clear that this Bill, if passed by the Senate after a narrow victory in the House of Representatives, would give major tax cuts to the rich and cuts in a range of social services to the less well-off, triggering a massive increase in the nation's debt. As a result, the president's push for this Bill is becoming more frenetic, yet less certain of results. Meanwhile, there is growing criticism of the plans Trump has pushed for a major military parade to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the US Army. The massive parade is scheduled to take place in Washington, DC, on Saturday — which just happens to be Trump's 79th birthday. Moreover, those highly touted Trump initiatives to reach a chimerical, quick, easy solution to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the continuing ferocity of Israel's actions in Gaza, have left Trump with no victories to celebrate, despite his promises. As a result, looking bloody-minded on immigrants, with a tough, military-style crackdown on protests against ICE's round-ups of potential visa violators and other illegal immigrants, could be spun as a win for Trump, despite the rest of the depressing news. It could conceivably be touted as yet another campaign promise kept. Of course, the demonstrations across the US could mushroom instead. Casualties might mount, and increasing disapproval from civic leaders, some Republicans, judges, and many Democrats could be heard, along with a swathe of lawsuits against the president's policies. The crisis of the protests over immigration policy is not over, and if it goes badly it might come to define the Trump presidency. DM

Ramaphosa names 31 'eminent people' to champion national dialogue
Ramaphosa names 31 'eminent people' to champion national dialogue

TimesLIVE

time5 hours ago

  • TimesLIVE

Ramaphosa names 31 'eminent people' to champion national dialogue

President Cyril Ramaphosa will be calling a national convention on August 15, which will set the agenda for the national dialogue. Ramaphosa also announced the appointment of an eminent persons group of 31 people, who he said will guide and champion the national dialogue and act as the guarantors of an inclusive, constructive and credible process. In an announcement on Tuesday, Ramaphosa said the national convention will represent the diversity of the South African nation and will be a representative gathering, bringing together government, political parties, civil society, business, labour, traditional leaders, religious leaders, cultural workers, sports organisations, women, youth and community voices, among others. 'Through their various political, social and other formations, in their workplaces, in places of worship, communities, villages and sites of learning, South Africans will in the months following the national convention be encouraged to be in dialogue to define our nation's path into the future,' Ramaphosa said. The views, concerns and proposals that will emerge will be brought together at a second national convention, planned for the beginning of next year. Ramaphosa said there was broad agreement that given the challenges the country was facing at the moment, the national dialogue should be convened. 'The idea of holding a dialogue is not a new concept in our country. In many ways having dialogues is part of our DNA as a nation. At every important moment in the history of our country, we have come together as a nation to confront our challenges and forge a path into the future in dialogue with one another.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store