It's Donald Trump VS Ramaphosa over ‘white genocide’ claims

In a dramatic Oval Office meeting on Wednesday (May 21), US President Donald Trump accused South African President Cyril Ramaphosa of supporting a so-called "white genocide" and targeting of White farmers through land seizures and racially driven violence.

The exchange echoed Trump’s earlier ambush of Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which could prompt foreign leaders to think twice about accepting Trump's invitations and risk public embarrassment.

Ramaphosa had hoped the meeting would revive strained bilateral ties after Trump cancelled vital US aid, offered refuge to white minority Afrikaners, expelled the South African ambassador, and criticised its genocide court case against Israel.

However, instead of focusing on trade, the meeting quickly turned contentious as Trump presented curated video clips and news excerpts to support his claims.

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Staged presentation

During a carefully choreographed presentation, Trump dimmed the lights in the Oval Office and played a series of videos intended to bolster his case.

The footage included inflammatory speeches by opposition politicians and scenes from a September 2020 protest where white crosses were erected to honour murdered farmers. Trump asserted that the white crosses were the graves of white people, and opposition leaders making incendiary speeches.

Trump then displayed printed copies of news articles that he said showed white South Africans who had been killed, saying "death, death" as he flipped through them, eventually handing them to his counterpart.

Trump declared, “People are fleeing South Africa for their own safety. Their land is being confiscated, and in many cases, they’re being killed.” Trump's ally and South African-born business tycoon, Elon Musk, was also present in the Oval Office during the meeting.

Ramaphosa responds

The South African president arrived prepared for an aggressive reception, bringing popular white South African golfers as part of his delegation and saying he wanted to discuss trade.

Ramaphosa kept his calm, and mostly sat expressionless during the video presentation, occasionally craning his neck to look at the screen. Pointing to the presence of white South Africans in the delegation, he remarked, “If there was Afrikaner farmer genocide, I can bet you, these three gentlemen would not be here.”

Even as Trump insisted on the existence of widespread violence, Ramaphosa countered with facts: South Africa had recorded 26,232 murders in 2024, but only 44 were linked to farming communities — eight of those victims were farmers. Most victims of violent crime are Black South Africans.

During the White House meeting, Ramaphosa also clarified that the South African government does not endorse violence or land seizures based on race. “We are completely opposed to that,” Ramaphosa said in response to Trump’s allegations. “That is not government policy,” he added, stating, “our government policy is completely, completely against what he was saying.”

Ramaphosa also flatly denied Trump's allegations about a wave of racial violence against white farmers. "There is just no genocide in South Africa," he said.' The South African president cited Mandela's example as a peacemaker whose political base included white nationalists. But. Trump appeared unmoved, suggesting, “This is sort of the opposite of apartheid.”

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Trade efforts continue

The US is South Africa's second-biggest trading partner, and the country is facing a 30% tariff under Trump's currently suspended raft of import taxes.

Despite the contentious meeting, Ramaphosa sought to salvage progress. His trade minister noted that South Africa had submitted a trade and investment proposal to buy liquefied natural gas from the US and expand bilateral investment.

Zingiswa Losi, a leader of a South African trade union federation accompanying Ramaphosa, backed him saying: “How do we, both nations, work together to reset, to really talk about investment but also help, to address the levels of crime we have in our country.”

Baseless claim

President Trump’s claims of a white genocide in South Africa are not supported by evidence.

South Africa has one of the highest murder rates globally, averaging around 72 homicides per day in a country of 60 million. These high rates affect citizens across all racial and economic backgrounds.

Experts have consistently stated that while rural crime is a serious issue, it is not racially targeted. White South Africans, including farmers, are not statistically more likely to be victims of violent crime than other demographic groups.

A South African court in the Western Cape addressed this narrative directly earlier this year, ruling that claims of a “white genocide” were “clearly imagined and not real” and even barred a donation to a white supremacist organisation on those grounds.

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Misrepresentation of land reform

A significant part of Trump’s criticism centred on South Africa’s land reform policy, as he alleged that white farmers’ lands were being “confiscated” by the state.

Since the end of apartheid in 1994, land ownership has remained disproportionately skewed. Approximately 75 per cent of privately owned farmland remains under white ownership, although whites make up less than 8 per cent of the population.

To address this imbalance, South Africa’s 2024 land reform law, which allows for expropriation without compensation under specific public-interest conditions. However, the government has not exercised this option to date.

The policy’s stated aim is to address the enduring legacy of colonial and apartheid-era land dispossession, not to target individuals based on race.

Trump's claims true?

Despite President Trump’s presentation and graphic visuals, the claims of an ongoing white genocide in South Africa lack substantiating evidence.

Data from law enforcement agencies, rulings by the South African judiciary, and statements from both government and opposition figures suggest that while crime, including attacks on farmers, is a serious problem, it affects people of all races.

Ramaphosa seemed confused when shown a video segment featuring a roadside lined with white crosses. “I’d like to know where that is, because this I’ve never seen,” he remarked. Trump responded that the scene represented the burial sites of white farmers.

However, a New York Times investigation determined that the footage was taken at a protest in September 2020, near Newcastle, South Africa, following the murder of a white farming couple.

The crosses were symbolic, erected ahead of the event to honor slain farmers and later removed. They did not mark actual graves.