Latest news with #TrumpRamaphosa
Washington Post
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Trump welcomes Afrikaners but turns his back on all other refugees
You're reading an excerpt from the WorldView newsletter. Sign up to get the rest, including news from around the globe and interesting ideas and opinions to know, sent to your inbox on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It was meant to be an awkward meeting. On Wednesday at the White House, President Donald Trump cornered his South African counterpart, President Cyril Ramaphosa, and pressed the latter on the baseless myth of 'White genocide' in Africa's most industrialized nation. The set piece may not have turned into the sort of debacle seen in the Oval Office when Trump and Vice President JD Vance feuded with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but that was largely thanks to Ramaphosa's diplomatic restraint and composure.
Reuters
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
A check of Trump's false claims about white genocide in South Africa
U.S. President Donald Trump confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday (May 22) with explosive false claims of white genocide and land seizures during a tense White House meeting. Here are some of his claims contradicted by evidence. Kristy Kilburn reports.
Washington Post
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Unpacking Trump's obsession with ‘dead White farmers'
'Dead White farmers.' If you watched the White House meeting between President Donald Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, you already know what these words refer to, and if you didn't, well, I'm frankly not sure that any amount of column inches can fully explain them. On Wednesday, Ramaphosa and a South African delegation met with Trump in the Oval Office for what was supposed to be a relationship-building meeting between the two nations. It instead turned into what was, remarkably, only the second most offensive Oval Office ambush to take place between Trump and a foreign leader in calendar year 2025. (Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's appointment wins out merely because this time, Vice President JD Vance was not present to deliver sucker punches.)
CNA
22-05-2025
- Politics
- CNA
South Africans exasperated by Trump false claims during Ramaphosa meeting
JOHANNESBURG: South Africans expressed dismay on Thursday (May 22) at how US President Donald Trump's false claims of a white genocide dominated a conversation with President Cyril Ramaphosa, and many wondered if his trip to Washington was worth the trouble. Ramaphosa included popular white South African golfers in his delegation and he had hoped talks with Trump in the White House on Wednesday would reset relations with the United States, which have nosedived since the US leader took office in January. But Trump spent most of the conversation confronting his visitor with false claims that South Africa's white minority farmers are being systematically murdered and having their land seized. "He didn't get Zelenskyyed. That's what we have to hang onto (He) did not get personally insulted by the world's most horrible duo of playground bullies," Rebecca Davis of the national Daily Maverick wrote. At a February White House meeting, Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, calling him ungrateful for US military aid, and Zelenskyy heatedly tried to argue his case. For some, though, Ramaphosa's cool composure raised the question of what was achieved by his having subjected himself to the onslaught. "I don't think it was the right call. I don't think we need to explain ourselves to USA," 40-year-old Sobelo Motha, a member of a trade union, said on the streets of Johannesburg. "We ... we know there's no white genocide. So for me, it was pointless exercise." The South African president arrived prepared for an aggressive reception given actions in recent months by Trump, who has cancelled aid to South Africa, offered refuge to white minority Afrikaners, expelled the country's ambassador and criticised its genocide court case against Israel. But throughout, Trump wanted only to discuss the treatment of white South Africans, playing a video and leafing through articles that he said proved his allegations. Foreign ministry spokesperson Chrispin Phiri defended Ramaphosa's handling of the encounter, saying it was important that the two leaders engaged. "It's not in the president's (Ramaphosa's) nature to be combative. (He) looks at issues calmly, matter-of-factly. I think that's what we expect of our presidents," he told Reuters. FRINGE GROUPS IN SOUTH AFRICA Three decades after the end of apartheid in South Africa, some fringe groups lament the loss of white power that democracy brought and point to persistent economic crisis and corruption. Wider disillusion - not just among white South Africans - over the state of the country cost Nelson Mandela's legacy party its majority in last year's election. White South Africans make up less than 8 per cent of the population and are still the most affluent group, controlling three-quarters of private land. While South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world - about 20,000 a year - most victims are black. Data collected by white farmers themselves does not support the notion of a genocide. Afrikaner farmers' union TLU-SA has counted 1,363 white farmers murdered since 1990, or an average of 40 a year - far less than 1 per cent of total murders. South Africa's richest man, Johann Rupert, owner of Richemont group that owns brands like Cartier, was at the White House meeting and told Trump crime was a problem "across the board". Still, for more than a decade, global far-right chatrooms have been circulating the notion that whites are persecuted, views that appear to have influenced Trump, a large number of Republican politicians and his ally, South African-born Elon Musk. "I think the misinformation campaign by various right-wing groups and various Afrikaner groups was extremely successful," white South African writer Pieter du Toit told Reuters. "They have been feeding the idea of white victimhood into the right-wing ecosystem in the United States for years." Back home, though, most white South Africans take a more nuanced view. "In its entirety, the violent crime in South Africa should be looked at," Owen van Roen, 47, a global commodity trader, said in the affluent streets of Johannesburg's Sandton financial district.
Reuters
22-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
South African rand steady after fraught Ramaphosa-Trump meeting
JOHANNESBURG, May 22 (Reuters) - South Africa's rand was steady on Thursday, as markets tried to digest U.S. President Donald Trump'sOval Office ambush of South African leader Cyril Ramaphosa, which overshadowed the country's budget presentation. At 0746 GMT, the rand traded at 17.965 against the dollar , not far from its previous close on Wednesday and near a five-month high. South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana tabled the 2025 budget for the third time on Wednesday, after scrapping plans to raise value-added-tax, the most contentious element in his two previous attempts. The market focus quickly shifted to Ramaphosa's meeting with Trump, however, which the South African leader had hoped would help reset strained ties between the two nations after Trump suspended aid to South Africa earlier this year, citing its land reform policy and its genocide case against Israel. However, Trump confronted Ramaphosa in the White House with false allegations of mass killings of white people and land seizure, which the South African leader pushed back against. Following a bilateral meeting with Trump, Ramaphosa told reporters that the two countries had agreed to discuss critical minerals in South Africa, but did not provide details. A trade and investment proposal was also submitted, which includes buying liquefied natural gas from the United States, his trade minister said. "One hopes that more constructive talks around trade and bilateral relations took place behind closed doors, but as yet, there have been no updates," said Andre Cilliers, currency strategist at TreasuryONE. On the stock market, the Top-40 (.JTOPI), opens new tab index was down about 0.7%. South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond was weaker, with the yield up 2 basis points to 8.90%.
