Reuters: Trump showed image taken in DRC to claim white killings in South Africa
Reuters news agency says one of the images US President Donald Trump showed at the White House as evidence of white persecution in South Africa was actually taken in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Trump's action came during an Oval Office meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday.
In the presence of media, Trump held up what he claimed were a series of articles that offer proof of mass killings of white minorities in South Africa.
Reuters said on Thursday that one image Trump described as white farmers being buried was a screenshot of a video recorded by one of its journalists in the DRC.
Reuters says the video, published in February, shows a mass burial following an assault by anti-government rebels in the DRC.
It says an American conservative online media outlet had taken a screenshot of the video and posted it to its blog.
Reuters quoted the journalist who shot the footage as saying that "seeing Trump holding the article with the screengrab of his video came as a shock."
The journalist said, "In view of all the world, President Trump used my image, used what I filmed in DRC to try to convince President Ramaphosa that in his country, white people are being killed by Black people."
The White House has not commented on the Reuters report.
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Most Americans support protecting trans people from discrimination in jobs, housing and public spaces, according to a Pew Research Center survey early this year. At the same time, polls show that most support banning gender transition care for minors and oppose trans athletes participating in women's sports. One recent poll found that 89 percent of Republicans, 74 percent of independents and 44 percent of Democrats believe that someone's gender is determined by their sex at birth. Democratic strategists say they are trying to figure out how to blunt anti-trans attacks in the midterms and beyond. Some argue Democrats are allowing a political vulnerability to fester by mostly avoiding the subject. Third Way, a center-left think tank, is urging Democrats to embrace some restrictions on trans athletes while also taking the position that local groups and school districts, not politicians, should make the rules about participation in sports. 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She called the issue of trans competitors in women's sports 'a trap,' said Democrats should focus on other things such as economic inequality and emphasized how rare trans athletes are: The president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association recently estimated that fewer than 10 are competing across NCAA sports. But Finke also argued the backlash to trans athletes in women's sports is part of a broader Republican movement to 'get trans people out of all civic spaces and social spaces.' If Democrats cede ground on sports, 'they'll just move on to the next space,' she said. The issue was front-and-center in last year's election. Ads for Trump told voters that 'Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you.' A Washington Post analysis of data compiled by AdImpact shows that Republicans spent nearly $215 million on network TV ads that targeted transgender rights, at least $111 million of which specifically mentioned sports. Harris largely steered clear of gender identity in her campaign – saying when pressed that she was 'not going to put myself in the position of doctor' – but Republicans zeroed in on past comments, including her support for making gender-affirming surgery available to federal prisoners and detained migrants. After the election, some Democrats, including Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Massachusetts), suggested their party was out of step and said they opposed trans athletes in women's sports. The backlash was fierce: Moulton's campaign manager resigned, local Democrats threatened a primary challenge and a protest sprang up in Moulton's hometown. More recently, Newsom – a potential 2028 presidential candidate who led Democrats on gay rights early in his career – suggested on his podcast that 'it's deeply unfair' for trans athletes to participate in women's sports. His comment drew pushback from fellow liberals that continued at the California Democratic Convention last weekend. 'Shame on any of us who throws a trans child under the bus,' former Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz said in a speech there. 'That child deserves our support. Don't worry about the pollsters calling it distractions, because we need to be the party of human dignity.' The controversy over California's track and field championship has put Newsom back in the spotlight. Trump noted Newsom's comments on fairness last week while accusing his blue state of violating an executive order aimed at banning trans athletes from women's sports. The two played phone tag, Newsom's office said, but had not connected. Ahead of the track meet, Newsom's office praised rule changes at the California Interscholastic Federation, an independent nonprofit, that allowed additional women to participate after a trans athlete qualified. When Hernandez, the trans athlete, finished first in the high jump, she shared the gold medal with two other women. That did not satisfy Trump. And some Democrats said the California sports association's rule changes meant to address complaints about fairness were not a broad solution. 'It doesn't work for team sports,' said Finke, the Minnesota lawmaker. 'It's not a policy solution as much as it is trying to work around an individual crisis.' Some LGBTQ rights advocates said most Democrats have not wavered on trans issues and praised politicians such as Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D), who vocally defied Trump's executive order on trans athletes. Early this year in Congress, only two Democratic lawmakers voted for a Republican bill to ban transgender athletes from women's sports. Many others said federal lawmakers should stay out of the issue. Democratic strategist Mark Riddle said his group recently found that voters across the political spectrum responded positively to a comment that Rahm Emanuel, a possible 2028 Democratic candidate, made at a conference this year: 'I am done with the discussion of what locker room kids use. I am done with the discussion of bathrooms. We better start having a conversation about the classroom.' 'Voters want to move on from the culture wars,' Riddle said.
