Trump, Ramaphosa Debate ‘White Genocide’ Allegations at White House
Trump, Ramaphosa Debate ‘White Genocide’ Allegations at White House
Pretoria maintains that there is no evidence of widespread persecution of white farmers.
U.S. President Donald Trump (right) holds up a printed article while accusing South African President Cyril Ramaphosa of state-sanctioned violence against white farmers in South Africa during a meeting at the White House in Washington on May 21. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
A meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House on Wednesday turned into a spectacle when the U.S. leader presented Pretoria’s delegation with a video purporting to show evidence of an ongoing genocide against white farmers in South Africa.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the country’s new Expropriation Act discriminates against white South Africans. The law’s stated purpose is to redress apartheid-era land inequality by allowing Pretoria to seize property in limited circumstances for redistribution. No land has been expropriated under the law as of this time.
A meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House on Wednesday turned into a spectacle when the U.S. leader presented Pretoria’s delegation with a video purporting to show evidence of an ongoing genocide against white farmers in South Africa.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the country’s new Expropriation Act discriminates against white South Africans. The law’s stated purpose is to redress apartheid-era land inequality by allowing Pretoria to seize property in limited circumstances for redistribution. No land has been expropriated under the law as of this time.
The White House has also accused South Africa of targeted violence and killings of primarily white farmers. In a tone reminiscent of Trump’s fateful Oval Office showdown with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in February, Trump ambushed Ramaphosa with heated allegations, including a more than 4-minute-long video showing inflammatory statements made by firebrand South African politician Julius Malema, a member of parliament and leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters party, as well as other alleged evidence of genocide.
At one point during the meeting, Trump claimed that there were more than “1,000 burial sites” of white South African farmers in the country. Ramaphosa responded with: “I’d like to know where that is. Because this I’ve never seen.” South Africa maintains that there is no evidence of widespread persecution or genocide against white Afrikaners occurring in the country, and Trump has been unable to provide verifiable evidence of widespread killings taking place.
Read more in today’s World Brief: Trump Ambushes Ramaphosa With ‘White Genocide’ Video.
This post is part of FP’s ongoing coverage of the Trump administration. Follow along here.
Alexandra Sharp is the World Brief writer at Foreign Policy. Bluesky: @alexandrassharp.bsky.social X: @AlexandraSSharp
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