Latest news with #landconfiscation
Russia Today
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Trump backs South Africa ‘white genocide' claims with Congo footage
A screengrab from a video that US President Donald Trump presented as evidence of white farmers being killed in South Africa originated from footage of unrest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Reuters reported on Friday. Trump showed the image during a White House meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday, holding up a printout of an article that featured a screengrab from the footage, which Reuters said it originally published on February 3. According to the news agency, the video shows humanitarian workers handling body bags in Goma, one of the main cities in eastern Congo captured by M23 rebels amid intense fighting in late January. The screengrab appeared in a blog post by conservative outlet American Thinker, which discussed conflicts in both South Africa and the DRC, but did not caption the image. 'These are all white farmers that are being buried,' Trump said. 'You have hundreds of people, thousands of people trying to come into our country because they feel they're going to be killed and their land is going to be confiscated. And you do have laws that were passed that give you the right to confiscate land,' he claimed. Andrea Widburg, the managing editor at American Thinker and author of the post, told Reuters that Trump 'misidentified the image.' She said the article raised concerns about 'increasing pressure placed on white South Africans.' Ramaphosa's visit to Washington was aimed at repairing diplomatic ties amid heightened tensions with the US over land policy, foreign affairs, and Trump's accusations of discrimination against the white minority. During the meeting, the US president played a five-minute montage that included clips of South African political figures and images he claimed show graves of white farmers. Ramaphosa rejected the claims, stating that South Africa is a multi-party democracy and that crime affects all communities. 'There's no genocide in South Africa. That is a fact that's borne out of a lot of evidence,' he said, adding that those shown in the video were not part of his government.
The Herald
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald
Top five cringey moments from Ramaphosa's meeting with Trump
The meeting between President Cyril Ramaphosa and US President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday had several awkward moments that left many South Africans, including Ramaphosa and his delegation, embarrassed. Here are the top five cringey moments: 1. Trump's ambush with EFF leader Julius Malema's 'kill the Boer' video. Trump played a video of Malema singing the 'kill the Boer' song, catching Ramaphosa and his delegation off guard. While the video was playing, Ramaphosa visibility reacted and was seen clutching onto his chair, wiping his face and trying to interject to defend himself, while Trump interrupted him with claims of land confiscation in South Africa and killings of white farmers. Ramaphosa tried to explain that white farmers aren't the only ones being killed. 'There is criminality in our country. People get killed through criminal activity and they are not only white people. Most of them are black people,' Ramaphosa said. 2. Unverified burial sites of white farmers. Trump played a clip of what he claimed were burial sites of white farmers in South Africa, without providing any context or proof. 'These are burial sites of white farmers. It's a terrible sight, I've never seen anything like that,' Trump said. Ramaphosa looked shocked, asking where the sites were located, but none of his delegation seemed to know. 'I'd like to know where that is because this, I've never seen it,' Ramaphosa said. Trump then pulled out articles about farm murders, trying to support his narrative of white genocide. 3. Trump vs the journalist. When a journalist asked about a luxurious jet gifted to the US government by Qatar, Trump became defensive, telling the reporter to leave and accusing NBC of trying to change the subject. He criticised the journalist, saying they were 'not smart enough' to be a reporter and NBC was a 'terrible network'. 'You don't have what it takes to be a reporter, you're not smart enough. You ought to go back to your studio at NBC, you ought to be investigated. You're a disgrace, no more questions from you. You should be ashamed of yourself. You're such a bad reporter.' 4. Ramaphosa stepping in to answer for Trump. Asked what it would take for Trump to believe there's no white genocide in South Africa, Ramaphosa jumped in to answer, saying, 'It would take Trump listening to the voices of South Africans. I won't be repeating what I've been saying.' Ramaphosa added that if there were a genocide, the white members of his delegation wouldn't be present. Some people on social media welcomed his response, while others wanted to hear Trump's thoughts. 5. Trump dictating who Ramaphosa should bring to the meeting. Ramaphosa revealed that Trump had told him to bring renowned golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen to the meeting. Some South Africans felt Trump was overstepping, dictating who Ramaphosa should bring along. The delegation also included businessman Johann Rupert and minister of agriculture John Steenhuisen.
