Trump confronts South African leader with false claims of genocide in Oval Office ambush

USA Today

21-05-2025

WASHINGTON – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa brought two championship golfers from his country and a 14-kilogram book showcasing South Africa's greatest golf courses.
But even his best attempts to appeal to President Donald Trump's golf fandom couldn't shield him from becoming the latest target of an Oval Office ambush.
In a wild one-hour May 21 meeting between Trump and Ramaphosa ‒ rivaled only by Trump's memorable clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February ‒ Trump accused the South African leader of overseeing "genocide" against White people, played a video to try to prove the false claim and lashed out at a reporter who asked about his administration accepting a $400 million jet from Qatar.
"I'm sorry I don't have a plane to give you," Ramaphosa quipped after things got heated, about 20 minutes into the meeting.
"I wish you did. I'd take it," Trump said. "If your country offered the U.S. Air Force a plane, I would take it."
The backdrop to the hostility was the Trump administration's recent decision to welcome White South Africans, known as Afrikaners, as refugees to the United States, at a time when Trump has halted the resettlement of other refugees, who are typically people of color.
Trump has sympathized with White South Africans ‒ a minority in their country ‒ who say they're unfairly targeted by a new law that allows the South African government to seize property for the "public interest," in some cases without compensation. Trump last week escalated the fight by claiming the Afrikaners are the targets of "genocide" against White people ‒ an accusation rejected by the South African government and human rights experts, and not supported by evidence.
Violence is a longstanding problem in South Africa. While murder rates are high in the country, the overwhelming majority of victims are Black.
'Have they told you where that is, Mr. President?'
Trump pounced on an opening to set up a pre-arranged video presentation when a reporter asked what it would take to convince him that genocide is not taking place in South Africa.
In the silence that ensued, Ramaphosa took the question instead. "It will take President Trump listening to the voices of South Africans, some of whom are his good friends," the South African leader said.
Trump then weighed in, citing "thousands of stories talking about it" and asking one of his White House aides to turn down the lights. "I could show you a couple of things," Trump said.
A video started playing on a screen that was moved into the Oval Office before the meeting. It featured footage of Black South Africans calling for followers to occupy farmland, declaring that "the killing is part of the revolution" and condemning the "White man" and "whiteness" in their country. (A member of Ramaphosa's delegation later informed the room that Trump's video featured two opposition leaders to the South African government whose positions the current regime rejects.)
The video ended with footage of white crosses along a street that Trump said were grave sites for White South Africans killed because of their race. In reality, the crosses weren't actual graves, but rather symbols used in protests by White South African farmers.
"These are burial sites right here. Over 1,000 White farmers," Trump said as the video played. "It's a terrible sight. I've never seen anything like it."
Ramaphosa, who negotiated at Nelson Mandela's side in the 90s, remained cool and calm throughout the meeting. He responded: "Have they told you where that is, Mr. President? No? I'd like to know where that is because this, I've never seen."
Elon Musk watches confrontation unfold
Elon Musk, the world's richest man, a top Trump adviser and a South African native, watched the back-and-forth silently, standing behind an Oval Office couch alongside reporters.
He was invited as an observer, but Trump brought him into the conversation.
"Elon is from South Africa. I don't want to get Elon involved. That's all I have to do ‒ get him into another thing," Trump said. "He actually came here on a different subject: sending rockets to Mars. OK? He likes that better."
For decades, South Africa was controlled under apartheid rule by the country's White minority, many of them descendants of Dutch colonists. Apartheid, a system of legalized segregation, deprived the majority of citizens of basic rights and forced many Black South Africans to live in ethnic Bantustans. It ended in 1994.
Ramaphosa and other defenders of the land seizure law argue the policies are needed to reverse the nation's apartheid-era legacy of disparities in land ownership.
Although apartheid rule ended long ago, the typical Black South African household has just 5% of the wealth of the typical White household, according to a 2024 study by researchers at The Africa Institute and the University of Zambia.
"What you saw ‒ the speeches that were being made ‒ that is not government policy," Ramaphosa said, still responding to the video clips highlighted by Trump. "We have a multi-party democracy in South Africa that allows people to express themselves. Political parties adhere to various policies. And in many cases, those policies do not go along with government policies."
If the clash between Trump and Ramaphosa wasn't enough, the meeting grew more tense when a reporter from NBC News rattled Trump by asking about the Qatari jet.
News had just broken that the Pentagon had officially accepted a luxury Boeing 747 jet from Qatar to be used as Air Force One. It's believed to be the largest foreign gift accepted by a president in U.S. history, and Democrats have argued that it's unconstitutional for Trump to take it.
"It's NBC trying to get off the subject of what you just saw. You're a terrible reporter," Trump said. "For NBC to go into a subject about a gift that was given to the United States Air Force, which was a very nice thing ..."
Two pro golfers help simmer tensions
The conversation shifted back to the racial dynamics of South Africa. About 45 minutes into the meeting, Trump asked famous South African golfer Ernie Els ‒ one of Ramaphosa's guests ‒ to say some words.
"This is tougher than sinking a three-footer,' Trump said, inviting Els, winner of four major golf championships, to speak.
Els took a South African passport from his jacket pocket to illustrate his pride in his country. But he said that 35 years since the transition away from the policy of racial division under apartheid to a Black-led government, supporters want to see the country flourish.
'We want to see things get better in our country," said Els, who is White. 'I know there's a lot of anger through the transition.'
Els said Black leader Nelson Mandela unified the nation by not promoting hatred. He said business is getting involved in government, demonstrating greater coexistence between the races.
'I feel we need the U.S. to push this thing through,' Els said. "It's very important for us to have your support and get the change we need.'
Trump commended his presentation.
'Boy, did you do that well,' Trump said after Els finished. 'He might have done that even better than he plays golf, which is almost impossible."
Els, along with fellow South African golfer Retief Goosen, who also spoke, helped cool the temperature before the press was escorted out.
Goosen, who is also White, said his father was a land developer and farmer, and that his brothers continue to farm. 'It's a constant battle. They're trying to burn the farms down to chase you away,' he said. 'It is a concern to make a living as a farmer. Without farmers, there's no food on the plate.'
Goosen said other farmers have been killed. His family lives behind electric fences, but he said that hadn't prevented his brothers and mother from being attacked in their homes.
'It is difficult,' he said.
Trump expressed sympathy.
'It's no way to live,' Trump said.
Reuters contributed.
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.