Why South Africa Is Torn Over the Trump-Ramaphosa Showdown

Time​ Magazine

23-05-2025

In a surreal display of diplomatic theater on Wednesday, President Donald Trump subjected his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa to watch fabricated evidence of a 'genocide' against white farmers.
Back home, Ramaphosa briefly enjoyed a wave of sympathy for remaining composed during what was the latest ambush of a foreign leader at the Oval Office.
That is partly because U.S. news outlets—from morning talk shows to late-night satires—have debunked Trump and the South African-born Elon Musk's claims with fresh vigor. For many South Africans, long frustrated by caricatured coverage of our country, the scrutiny is a belated but welcome corrective.
Few myths are as pernicious or cynically weaponized as the 'white genocide' conspiracy theory. South Africa's real story is one of endemic violence and unfinished justice. Under apartheid, the Black majority was stripped of political rights, confined to just 13% of the land, and persecuted remorselessly under a complex system of racist laws. White farmers came to dominate the economy, and three decades into democracy, the imbalance persists.
Violent crime, meanwhile, is a scourge afflicting every community. To single out white victims distorts the nation's trauma and turns a shared tragedy into a divisive fiction—one which Trump has turbocharged. It also mocks the millions of Black South Africans who, after surviving one of history's great evils, have nevertheless largely extended a hand of reconciliation to their white compatriots.
Despite all of this, most South Africans were left with mixed feelings over the White House showdown. The encounter Ramaphosa had billed in advance as a 'reset' must now read as a bogey. His attempt to turn the briefing into a public-relations coup—and to trade on his reputation as a deft negotiator has collapsed.
Pretoria must now accept that Washington will inflame racial tensions in South Africa for the foreseeable future. What happens in our country is no longer just a foreign-policy file, but a live domestic wedge issue in MAGA-world.
To be sure, Ramaphosa had chalked up some foreign policy wins in recent months. Following February's uproar over Trump's executive order fast-tracking refugee status for white Afrikaners, European Council President António Costa reaffirmed the E.U.'s 'commitment to deepen ties with South Africa as a reliable and predictable partner.' A month later, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen landed in Cape Town to unveil a €4.7 billion ($5.1 billion) Global Gateway investment package—Europe's signal that its door remains open to Pretoria.
Pretoria's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice has also earned it vocal support from capitals spanning Madrid to Kuala Lumpur. By challenging both Israel over Gaza and Trump over the 'white genocide' conspiracy theory, Ramaphosa has positioned his country as a rare voice willing to push back against great-power narratives.
Yet South Africa's fundamentals remain grim. Unemployment is above 32%, there is persistent poverty, violent crime claims over 70 lives a day, and income inequality is the worst worldwide. Trump, had he wished to embarrass Pretoria, could have wielded that domestic ledger more effectively than any conspiracy theory video.
Corruption deepens the malaise. No episode captures the rot more vividly than the Phala Phala affair, involving Ramaphosa himself. In 2020, Burglars crept into his game-farm, slit open a leather sofa, and disappeared with bundles of undeclared U.S. dollars—leaving the head of state, a Black farmer, both a victim of crime and a symbol of murky governance.
Each unanswered question and stalled prosecution erodes public faith a little further. Ramaphosa and his ruling African National Congress party have presided over 30 years of misgovernance and Black stagnation, and the ANC's grip on power is now looking shakier. The party in June 2024 lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since the end of apartheid.
Pretoria will not convince Trump—or Musk—out of the 'white genocide' myth. For now, its realistic goals are to limit U.S. tariffs, reassure investors, and head off threats of targeted sanctions against senior officials. Second-term U.S. presidents shed influence fast as the lame-duck clock starts ticking; Trump's approval ratings already hover near 40%, below Joe Biden's or Barack Obama's at the same stage of their presidencies. The smartest play for South Africa now is containment and damage limitation, while relations remain in the rough.