#TwoBits: Trump vs Ramaphosa White House showdown raises reasonable questions
After a brief cold spell, the Transkei coast has been bathed in warm sunshine for the last few days and life here is as calm and unhurried as when we lived in these parts nearly 50 years ago.
I had to make a conscious choice to find a television to watch the shootout in the OK Corral at the White House.
President Ramaphosa and his PR team of Johann Rupert and golfers were falling over themselves to prove to Trump and the world that SA is doing just fine, thank you. It may be the crime capital of the world, but there's no genocide, so don't believe the naysayers like Afriforum and the 49 'Boers'.
As SA's richest man, Rupert needs to catch a wakeup. He wants us to believe he sleeps with his doors unlocked? Ja sure, in the secure estate of Leopard Creek behind razor wire and security patrols, not in Ballito or Nkobongo or Stanger Manor where real people live.
Genocide there may not be, but living in constant fear of becoming victims, as most citizens do, is not considered normal by most of the world.
Donald Trump is not picky about being correct on details. He makes broad statements, often inaccurate. His tactic is to destabilise his adversaries, throw them off balance, and attack.
And attack he did. Not brutally like he did to Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelensky, but by shoving Julius Malema's 'Kill the Boer' and the display of white crosses representing murdered farmers alongside a road outside Newcastle, firmly in Cyril Ramaphosa's face. Ramaphosa had no response. He floundered with the weak story that the song is protected by freedom of speech.
'Why hasn't that man been arrested?' Trump asked. Good point.
Nobody at the top in government has said they disapprove of the song. The courts may have said it's okay, but then the law is an ass. It is morally wrong to go around stirring hatred. Make no mistake, that is what Malema intends to do by singing it. By refusing to condemn it, Ramaphosa's ANC is saying they approve it. Well, they're not reading the room. The world doesn't like it.
So the real question is, why is Trump hellbent on belittling South Africa? Surely we're a little country of no consequence? Not quite. Our sins are many.
First, we're far too pally with America's arch enemy, Iran. The Iran that sponsors Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran that wants to be a nuclear power. The Houthis that are disrupting shipping in the Red Sea and the Hamas that we're so keen to defend in the International Court of Justice. The world also suspects that Iran funds the ANC.
Second, we sit astride the vital trade route around Africa. There's no threat to world shipping just yet, but who knows what the future holds if South Africa is allowed to continue on its reckless path? Which segues into the third reason, that we're also too pally with Russia and China. Remember we held naval exercises with China not too long ago.
Many media observers have trumpeted that the White House meeting was a resounding success for SA. Based on what, I don't know. There has been no public shift in relations, no lifting of tariffs, no recommitment to the Agoa trade treaty. Maybe Elon Musk's Starlink will get a leg up but all that fuss wasn't just for Starlink.
The real benefit to all South Africans, in my mind, is that Trump provided a stage for the airing of SA's problems to the world. The politicians now know that the world is watching them. They need to think twice before just going their merry old way.
***
I am pleased to announce that I have found the perfect fried egg.
Ordering a fried egg is a hit-and-miss business. I like them medium, not runny, not hard, just soft in the middle. And mostly they are cooked in over-hot oil, so the edge gets a burnt, frilly lace. Confession: I can't fry an egg myself without it looking like a road accident. For that reason I mostly just order scrambled eggs, 'cos who can mess that up?
Well, at Wavecrest Hotel in Southern Transkei Wild Coast, where the welcome is friendly and the staff lovely, their magician of a chef produces a perfect medium fried egg, every time. Picture above to prove it. Well done, Wavecrest!
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