PRESIDENT Donald Trump confronted South Africa’s leader with a video he claimed supported his allegations of white persecution in the country.
Trump dimmed the lights and shushed President Cyril Ramaphosa in a bizarre moment where he showed the video that purported to show evidence of a genocide of white farmers in South Africa.
Trump showed pictures that he said support his claims of genocide happening in South Africa[/caption]
The White Cross Monument in Ysterberg, South Africa, memorializes white farmers who have been murdered[/caption]
Trump and Ramaphosa watched as the video plays in the Oval Office on Wednesday[/caption]
Trump hosted Ramaphosa at the White House on Wednesday to confront him about claims that South Africa’s government isn’t punishing people who kill white farmers.
South Africa has strongly denied all of the allegations, and Ramaphosa asked for the meeting to fix the relationship between the two countries.
The chat started friendly as Trump complimented the South African golfers that Ramaphosa brought to the Oval Office.
Then, Trump played a video that he said showed evidence of an alleged genocide of white farmers in South Africa.
Ramaphosa tried to speak to Trump while the clip started to play, but Trump pointed at the video, telling him to pay attention.
The video showed a rally from last year where attendees chanted “Kill the Boer, the farmer,” which is an inflammatory anti-apartheid song.
The clip also showed rows of white crosses purportedly in South Africa, each one marking a white farmer who was murdered, Trump said.
The White House later shared the four-minute video on X, calling it “proof of persecution in South Africa.”
Ramaphosa sat expressionless as he watched the video, while members of the South African delegation appeared shocked that the controversial video was playing.
Trump said the video showed the graves of thousands of white farmers.
Ramaphosa said he didn’t recognize the location of the video as being in South Africa, adding he would like to find out more information about it.
He said there was crime in South Africa, but that the majority of victims were Black.
“The farmers are not Black,” Trump responded.
Trump showed printouts of articles that he claimed showed evidence of the alleged genocide.
“Death, death, death,” the president said as he flipped through the pages.
After the video played, Trump also lashed out at a reporter from NBC who asked about the Qatari airplane gift to the president and blamed the media for not covering the alleged genocide.
Ramaphosa made light of the moment by joking, “I’m sorry I don’t have a plane to give you.”
Following the meeting, Trump said he wasn’t sure if there was a genocide happening in South Africa or not.
Trump has cut off foreign aid to South Africa based on the claims, which stem from a land reform law.
He accused the country’s government of taking land from white farmers and fuelling violence against them with “hateful rhetoric and government actions.”
He also recently offered refuge to white Afrikaners based on their claims that they were racially discriminated against.
Pretoria, South Africa’s executive capital, denied the claims.
