Trump’s False Claims of White Genocide in South Africa Spark Tense White House Clash

U.S. President Donald Trump ignited a diplomatic firestorm during a White House meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on May 21, 2025, leveling baseless accusations of white genocide and land seizures in South Africa.

The confrontation, marked by a dramatic Oval Office presentation, echoed Trump’s earlier ambush of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in February. Ramaphosa, aiming to mend strained U.S.-South Africa relations, faced an aggressive reception as Trump played a misleading video and brandished articles he claimed substantiated his allegations.

The exchange, witnessed by South African billionaire Johann Rupert and prominent white South African golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, underscored deep tensions as Ramaphosa sought to refocus discussions on trade and critical minerals.

Trump’s Allegations and the Video Presentation

Trump’s claims centered on a debunked narrative of widespread persecution of white South Africans, particularly farmers, which he alleged amounted to genocide. In a choreographed move, he dimmed the Oval Office lights to play a September 2020 video showing white crosses falsely presented as graves of murdered white farmers and inflammatory speeches by opposition figures like Julius Malema, whom Trump suggested should be arrested.

The video, tied to a protest following the 2020 murder of two farmworkers, was misrepresented; the crosses symbolized farmers killed over years, not recent graves, as confirmed by South Africa’s public broadcaster at the time.

Trump further handed Ramaphosa a stack of articles, flipping through them while repeating “death, death,” asserting they documented killings of white South Africans. Real-time data from South African police, updated as of March 2025, reports 26,232 murders nationwide in 2024, with only 44 linked to farming communities, eight of whom were farmers, predominantly non-white victims.

Did You Know?
South Africa’s land reform program, initiated post-apartheid in 1994, has redistributed over 7.5 million hectares of land by 2024, less than 10% of the 80 million hectares targeted, highlighting the slow pace of addressing historical dispossession.

South Africa’s Rebuttal and Context

Ramaphosa, maintaining composure, firmly rejected Trump’s narrative. “If there was Afrikaner farmer genocide, I can bet you these three gentlemen would not be here,” he said, gesturing to Els, Goosen, and Rupert.

He emphasized that South Africa’s high crime rate, one of the world’s highest, overwhelmingly affects Black citizens, with Black South Africans comprising the majority of murder victims.

South Africa’s land reform law, designed to address apartheid-era inequalities, allows expropriation without compensation in specific public-interest cases, such as unused land, but no such actions have occurred, and legal challenges are permitted.

Ramaphosa invoked Nelson Mandela’s legacy of reconciliation, but Trump, unmoved, described the situation as “the opposite of apartheid,” a statement that alarmed South African delegates given the country’s history of racial oppression until 1994.

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Diplomatic Stakes and Trade Talks

Ramaphosa’s visit aimed to reset U.S.-South Africa relations, strained by Trump’s cancellation of aid, expulsion of South Africa’s ambassador, and criticism of its genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

South Africa, the U.S.’s second-largest trading partner in Africa, faces potential 30% tariffs under Trump’s suspended import tax plan. Despite the confrontation, Ramaphosa pivoted to trade, announcing discussions on critical minerals and a proposal to purchase U.S. liquefied natural gas.

Johann Rupert supported Ramaphosa, noting that crime affects all South Africans, not just white farmers. Post-meeting, Ramaphosa told reporters, “There is just no genocide in South Africa,” seeking to dispel Trump’s claims, which have been amplified by far-right groups and Trump’s ally, Elon Musk, who was present during the meeting.

Global Implications and Trump’s Pattern

The exchange, following a similar clash with Zelenskiy, may deter foreign leaders from accepting Trump’s invitations, fearing public embarrassment. Trump’s focus on white genocide myths, a rallying point for white nationalists, reflects a broader pattern of engaging with fringe narratives, including those circulated in far-right online spaces for over a decade.

Ramaphosa, unlike Zelenskiy, remained diplomatic, praising Trump’s Oval Office decor and expressing optimism about South Africa hosting the G20 in November 2025, though Trump declined to confirm attendance.

Recent reports indicate South Africa’s government is now engaging regional allies to counter misinformation about its land policies, with trade negotiations gaining urgency to offset potential U.S. tariffs.