Trump vs Ramaphosa: Not quite game, set and match

News24

23-05-2025

Editorial: Not quite game, set and match
Did the presence of businessman Johann Rupert and golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen give President Cyril Ramaphosa and his team a false sense of security when they entered the Oval Office on Wednesday?
Surely, they were aware that US President Donald Trump would need to save face from the glare of why he gave refugee status to 49 Afrikaners from South Africa if there was no 'white genocide' as he claimed.
If the team had prepared for the meeting as a sports team prepares to win a match, maybe things would have gone smoother.
A game-plan was needed on what to do when Trump, well-known for his antics, such as giving a war leader a dressing down for not wearing a suit, pulled out his card. Instead of the South African team tagging each other and calmly steering the ship through Trump's ambush, it degenerated into an airing of the country's dirty laundry.
The result was not what Trump had been looking for. Still, in front of international media, the delegation revealed the country had a massive and uncontrollable crime problem. What's worse, as News24 columnist Jonny Steinberg pointed out in last week's Friday Briefing, South Africans are inured to violence. This had been the basis upon which Trump had been able to leverage to build all his lies and misinformation.
Perhaps in some ways, this meeting will serve as an intervention, and now, finally, the South African government will work harder to make this a better and safer place for all.
In this week's Friday Briefing, News24's investigations editor Pieter du Toit writes that while Ramaphosa may have handled himself well, the show was an indictment of SA's poor governance. We also have input from author John Matisonn and political analyst Mpumelelo Mkhabela on Wednesday's meeting.
We end off with a Q&A with Investec's chief economist, Annabel Bishop, about Budget 3.0, which also took place on Wednesday.
You can read the submissions below.
SA's grim night in Washington must lead to positive change – and 'Kill the boer' must go
President Cyril Ramaphosa carried himself with dignity and aplomb – but the reality of the South African situation demands urgent and fundamental change, writes Pieter du Toit.
Read the rest of the article here.
Ramaphosa did South Africa proud, but it's time to worry
John Matisonn writes that on Wednesday night, Cyril Ramaphosa showed once again why you want him by your side in a tight diplomatic spot, but it also revealed a country that needs to fix its crime and its economy.
Read the rest of the article here.
Mud games in diplomacy and Johann Rupert's stunning intervention
It was astonishing to see Donald Trump, who once condemned 'fake news' and thus popularised the phrase, rely on fake news to make policy in full view of the world, writes Mpumelelo Mkhabela.
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Q&A with Annabel Bishop | 'Credit rating agencies unlikely to react negatively' to Budget 3.0
Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop tells in-depth writer Muhammad Hussain that the third SA Budget is a more balanced and realistic approach that would have avoided a lot of market disruption had it been presented in the first place.
Read the rest of the article here.