Trump accused Ramaphosa of allowing violence against South Africa’s predominantly white farming communities.
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump on May 21 confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with allegations of mass violence against Afrikaners, prompting pushback from the African leader.
The Oval Office meeting occurred during heightened tensions between the two countries over the issue. The United States recently received its first group of white South Africans who were granted refugee status.
Here are five key moments from the approximately hour-long meeting.
‘Turn the Lights Down’
A tense moment during the meeting occurred when Trump presented videos showing evidence of “Afrikaner genocide” in South Africa, after Ramaphosa had rejected the claims, denying that any such killings were taking place.
In a dramatic scene, Trump said, “Turn the lights down. Turn the lights down,” before playing a video.
The video, several minutes long, showed crowds at rallies calling for white farmers to be shot, followed by scenes of what Trump described as burial sites for white farmers in South Africa.
“These are burial sites right here. Burial sites of over 1,000 white farmers,” Trump said, speaking over the video.
“Each one of those white things you see is a cross,” he said, pointing to the screen.
“Those cars aren’t driving,” Trump continued, referring to the cars lined up at the burial site. “They stopped there to pay respects to their family member who was killed, and it’s a terrible sight. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
As the video played, Ramaphosa looked away.
“I’d like to know where that is, because this I’ve never seen,” he said.
“I mean, it’s in South Africa,” Trump responded.
Trump’s Stack of Articles
As the video footage ended, a South African reporter asked Trump what he’d like Ramaphosa to do about the violent attacks on white farmers.
“I don’t know,” Trump replied, before continuing his presentation with a stack of news articles that further described violent attacks on white people in South Africa.
“These are articles over the last few days. Death of people, death, death, death, horrible death, death,” Trump said as he flipped through the printouts. “I don’t know. Pick any one: ‘White South Africans are fleeing because of the violence and racist laws.’”
As he thumbed through the printouts, Trump also rebuked a reporter who sought to pivot from the discussion about violence in South Africa by asking a question about Qatar’s offer to give the U.S. Department of Defense a Boeing 747-8 to temporarily use as the new Air Force One.
On Feb. 7, Trump issued an executive order suspending all U.S. foreign aid to South Africa. The order also stated that the Trump administration would promote the resettlement of “Afrikaner refugees escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination, including racially discriminatory property confiscation” in South Africa.
On May 12, nearly 60 white South Africans arrived in the United States as the first group granted asylum under the president’s resettlement program.
Argument Breaks Out
During the tense exchange, Ramaphosa rejected Trump’s claims of an “Afrikaner genocide,” stating that the rhetoric in the video didn’t reflect official government policy.
“We have a multi-party democracy in South Africa that allows people to express themselves,” he said.
Trump interrupted, “But you do allow them to take land.”
Ramaphosa denied it, stating, “Nobody can take the land.”
“They take the land, they kill the white farmer, and when they kill the white farmer, nothing happens to them,” Trump persisted.
Ramaphosa acknowledged that criminal violence is a serious problem in his country, but he denied that it amounts to a genocide targeting white people. He noted that victims of violent crime are overwhelmingly black people.
He told Trump he’d like to discuss these issues “very calmly” behind closed doors.
Ramaphosa Redirects
As Trump continued to castigate a reporter for pivoting off the topic of violence in South Africa with a question about Qatar’s offer to gift a new Air Force One jet to the United States, Ramaphosa joked, “I’m sorry I don’t have a plane to give you.”
“I wish you did,” Trump replied, earning a laugh from the South African president.
As Ramaphosa and Trump refocused on the violence in South Africa, Ramaphosa said he wanted to address Trump’s concerns with a collaborative approach. He noted that South Africa has shown an interest in some U.S. technology for crime-fighting.
“There is support that we can get from you and the United States to help us deal with all these acts of criminality—that is what I believe partnership is all about—and we are here as a partner so that we can help each other,” Ramaphosa said.
South African Delegation
During the meeting, Ramaphosa made an effort to show that he brought an inclusive delegation to the White House meeting. Among the prominent figures were billionaire businessman Johann Rupert and prominent golf players Ernie Els and Retief Goosen.
Trump greeted them warmly, calling Rupert “my friend” and “one of the greatest businessmen in South Africa.”
During the meeting, Ramaphosa also introduced his minister of agriculture, John Steenhuisen, noting that he’s white and he joined his Cabinet from an opposition party.
Steenhuisen said that the majority of farmers want to stay in South Africa. He said farm attacks and stock theft are a major concern, and that he’s working with police and justice officials to prioritize addressing them.
“I also want to just say this. The two individuals in that video that you’ve seen are both leaders of opposition minority parties in South Africa,” he said, adding that he joined forces with Ramaphosa’s party “to keep those people out of power.”
Following their closed-door meeting, Ramaphosa said the talks “went very well.”
When asked whether Trump had heard his concerns, Ramaphosa replied, “Yes, he did.”
Travis Gillmore contributed to this report.