Trump confronts South African leader with baseless claims of targeted killing of white farmers

U.S. President Donald Trump used a White House gathering to forcefully face South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, accusing the state of failing to code Trump's baseless assertion of wide and targeted sidesplitting of achromatic farmers.

Trump adjacent dimmed the lights of the Oval Office to play a video of a far-left person chanting a opus that includes the lyrics "kill the farmer." He besides leafed done quality articles to underscore his point, saying the country's achromatic farmers person faced "death, death, death, horrible death."

Trump had already chopped each U.S. assistance to South Africa and welcomed respective twelve achromatic South African farmers to the U.S. arsenic refugees arsenic helium pressed the lawsuit that a "genocide" is underway successful the country.

The U.S. president has launched a bid of accusations at South Africa's Black-led government, claiming it is seizing onshore from achromatic farmers, enforcing anti-white policies and pursuing an anti-American overseas policy.

Experts successful South Africa accidental determination is nary grounds of whites being targeted, though farmers of each races are victims of convulsive location invasions successful a state that suffers from a precise precocious transgression rate.

"People are fleeing South Africa for their ain safety," Trump said. "Their onshore is being confiscated and successful galore cases they're being killed."

Fact-checking Trump

Ramaphosa pushed backmost against Trump's accusation. The South African person had sought to usage the gathering to acceptable the grounds consecutive and salvage his country's narration with the United States. The bilateral narration is astatine its lowest constituent since South Africa enforced its apartheid strategy of radical segregation, which ended successful 1994.

"We are wholly opposed to that," Ramaphosa said of the behaviour alleged by Trump successful their exchange. He added, "that is not authorities policy" and "our authorities argumentation is completely, wholly against what helium was saying."

Trump was unmoved.

"When they instrumentality the land, they termination the achromatic farmer," helium said.

"The president is simply a genuinely respected antheral successful many, galore circles," Trump said of the South African president astatine the commencement of the Oval Office meeting. "And successful immoderate circles, he's considered a small controversial."

Ramaphosa said it was clip to "recalibrate" the relationship, and went retired of his mode to convey Trump for welcoming him to the White House for the talks.

"We are fundamentally present to reset the narration betwixt the United States and South Africa," helium said.

Trump issued an enforcement order in February cutting each backing to South Africa over immoderate of its home and overseas policies. The bid criticized the South African authorities connected aggregate fronts, saying it is pursuing anti-white policies astatine location and supporting "bad actors" successful the world, similar the Palestinian militant radical Hamas and Iran.

Criticism driven by misinformation: South Africa

Trump has falsely accused the South African authorities of a rights usurpation against achromatic Afrikaner farmers by seizing their onshore done a caller expropriation law. No onshore has been seized and the South African authorities has pushed back, saying U.S. disapproval is driven by misinformation.

The Trump administration's references to the Afrikaner radical — who are descendants of Dutch and different European settlers — person besides elevated erstwhile claims made by Trump's South African-born advisor Elon Musk and immoderate blimpish U.S. commentators that the South African authorities is allowing attacks connected achromatic farmers successful what amounts to a genocide.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio connected Tuesday said Trump remains acceptable to "reset" relations with South Africa, but noted that the administration's concerns astir South African policies chopped adjacent deeper than the concerns astir achromatic farmers.

South Africa has angered the Trump White House implicit its determination to bring charges astatine the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians successful Gaza.

Ramaphosa has besides faced scrutiny successful Washington for his past connections to MTN Group, Iran's second-largest telecom provider. It owns astir fractional of Irancell, a associated task linked with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Ramaphosa served arsenic committee seat of MTN from 2002 to 2013.

"When 1 state is consistently unaligned with the United States connected contented aft contented aft contented aft issue, present you go — you person to marque conclusions astir it," Rubio told Senate Foreign Relation Committee members astatine a Tuesday hearing.

Delegation included celebrated golfers

Given these heavy differences, Ramaphosa appeared to beryllium taking steps to debar the benignant of contentious engagement that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy experienced during his late-February Oval Office visit, erstwhile the Ukrainian person recovered himself being berated by Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance. That disastrous gathering ended with White House officials asking Zelenskyy and his delegation to permission the White House grounds.

The South African president's delegation includes golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, a motion to the golf-obsessed U.S. president. Luxury goods tycoon and Afrikaner Johann Rupert was besides included arsenic portion of the delegation to assistance easiness Trump's concerns astir onshore being seized from achromatic farmers.

Musk besides attended Wednesday's talks. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has been astatine the forefront of the disapproval of his homeland, casting its affirmative enactment laws arsenic racist against whites.

Musk has said connected societal media that his Starlink outer net work isn't capable to get a licence to run successful South Africa due to the fact that helium is not Black.

LISTEN l Trump's choler astatine South Africa: 

South African authorities accidental Starlink hasn't formally applied. It can, but it would beryllium bound by affirmative enactment laws successful the communications assemblage that necessitate overseas companies to let 30 per cent of their South African subsidiaries to beryllium owned by shareholders who are Black oregon from different radical groups disadvantaged nether apartheid.

The South African authorities says its long-standing affirmative enactment laws are a cornerstone of its efforts to close the injustices of the achromatic number regularisation of apartheid, which denied opportunities to Blacks and different radical groups.