Trump Confronts Ramaphosa With ‘White Genocide’ Claims in Tense Oval Office Meeting
Tensions between South Africa and the United States escalated sharply this week after a heated exchange between U.S. President Donald Trump and visiting South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during a bilateral meeting at the White House.
In a dramatic scene inside the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump confronted Ramaphosa with conspiracy theories claiming that a “white genocide” was occurring in South Africa, alleging that the country’s land reform policies were targeting white citizens unfairly.
According to sources familiar with the meeting, Trump presented a video compilation and a stack of printed news articles purporting to support his claims of widespread violence against white farmers and discriminatory land seizures. The materials, much of which have been widely debunked by media fact-checkers, appeared to be drawn from far-right sources, including the controversial White Afrikaner lobby group, AfriForum.
President Ramaphosa, who arrived in Washington with hopes of mending strained diplomatic and trade relations, rejected Trump’s accusations outright.
“There is crime in South Africa, yes, but it affects all communities,” Ramaphosa said during the meeting. “The idea that white South Africans are fleeing in fear of a government-led genocide is simply not true.”
News outlets reacted with alarm at the tone of the meeting. CNN described Trump’s remarks as “a laundry list of conspiracy theories,” while noting that many of the claims have previously been dismissed as unfounded propaganda.
The meeting comes against the backdrop of heightened tension since Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Act into law in January—a piece of legislation allowing land expropriation without compensation. Trump has previously labelled the reform as “discriminatory” toward white South Africans.
Compounding the tension, the U.S. recently withdrew funding from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in South Africa. The Trump administration also expelled South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool in March following comments he made about U.S. foreign policy during a think-tank webinar.
“What Donald Trump is launching is an assault on incumbency, by mobilising a supremacism against current power structures—both at home and abroad,” Rasool said during the event, remarks that may have contributed to his expulsion.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that Trump will not attend the G20 summit to be held in South Africa later this year, citing “misaligned priorities” between the two nations.
South Africa’s Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation responded sharply to the Oval Office clash and ongoing diplomatic freeze.
“The executive order freezing aid lacks factual accuracy and fails to recognise South Africa’s profound and painful history of colonialism and apartheid,” the ministry said in a February statement. “We are concerned by what seems to be a campaign of misinformation and propaganda aimed at misrepresenting our great nation.”
As relations continue to fray, Ramaphosa’s team is reportedly working behind the scenes to salvage trade negotiations, even as the White House doubles down on its contentious narrative.
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Trump Confronts Ramaphosa With ‘White Genocide’ Claims in Tense Oval Office Meeting