Trump to host South Africa's president amid tensions over US resettlement of white Afrikaners

Yahoo

21-05-2025

President Donald Trump is hosting South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House on Wednesday amid tensions between the two nations over the U.S. resettlement of white South Africans.
Trump and other top officials have claimed that a race-based "genocide" is unfolding against white farmers in the country. South African officials, including Ramaphosa, have vehemently pushed back, arguing that is not the case.
"It's a genocide that's taking place," President Trump said last week. "Farmers are being killed. They happen to be white. But whether they are white or Black makes no difference to me. But white farmers are being brutally killed, and their land is being confiscated in South Africa."
MORE: Trump administration defends white South African refugee program amid group's US arrival
That same day, the first flight of Afrikaners arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport.
Ramaphosa responded that the individuals who went to the U.S. "do not fit the definition of a refugee" -- someone who is leaving their country out of fear of persecution due to race, religion, political opinion or nationality.
"And I had a conversation with President Trump on the phone, and I -- he asked, he said, 'What's happening down there?'" Ramaphosa said. "And I said, 'President, what you've been told by those people who are opposed to transformation back home in South Africa is not true.'"
The South African government, in a statement last week, said its police statistics on farm-related crimes "do not support allegations of violent crime targeted at farmers generally or any particular race."
The dozens of Afrikaners who arrived in the U.S. last week had their applications fast-tracked under an executive order issued by Trump in February titled, "Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa."
The order contends the South African government passed a law allowing it to "seize ethnic minority Afrikaners' agricultural property without compensation" in a "shocking disregard of its' citizen rights." It instructs that the U.S. will not provide aid or assistance to the nation, and that the U.S. "promote the resettlement of Afrikaner refugees."
The law passed by South Africa cited by the administration aims to address land injustices established during apartheid. It states land can be expropriated in the public interest and in most cases must be subject to compensation, the amount of which must have been agreed to by the owners or approved by court. Experts say the law is comparable to similar legislation around the world regarding eminent domain.
In addition to Trump's executive order, his administration expelled South Africa's Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool from the U.S. earlier this year.
MORE: Trump administration faces criticism for prioritizing white South African refugees
Trump has been scrutinized for prioritizing Afrikaners while moving to restrict immigration from elsehwere, including from Afghanistan, Venezuela and Haiti.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio was asked to defend the administration's position while testifying before a Senate panel on Tuesday.
"I think those 49 people that came strongly felt they were persecuted, and they passed every sort of check mark that needed to be checked off," Rubio said. "The president identified it as a problem and wanted to use it as an example."
Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia said he believed the claim there is persecution of Afrikaner farmers was "completely specious" and noted the U.S. hadn't let in Black South Africans during apartheid.
"I think that the United States has a right to allow into this country and prioritize the allowance of who they want to allow it come in," Rubio responded.
Elon Musk, a South African native and a top adviser to the president during his second term, has also been vocal about the plight of South African landowners, amplifying claims of "white genocide."
Ramaphosa on Tuesday projected optimism about the upcoming talks with Trump.
"We're always ready and we hope to have really good discussions with President Trump and his fellow government colleagues. Looking forward to a really good and positive meeting, and we're looking forward to a really good outcome for our country, for our people, for the jobs in our country and good trade relations," Ramaphosa told reporters as he arrived at the South African Embassy in Washington.
He said trade is the "the most important, that is what has brought us here" and that they want to strengthen economic ties between the two nations in a video posted to X. Ramaphosa also said he and Trump will discuss Israel as well as Russia and Ukraine.
Ramaphosa didn't mention the United States' prioritization of the resettlement of white South African refugees in the videos posted to social media, though he vowed to protect South Africa's sovereignty.
"We will always do what is best for South Africans," he said.
ABC News' Shannon Kingston contributed to this report.
Trump to host South Africa's president amid tensions over US resettlement of white Afrikaners originally appeared on abcnews.go.com