Drama as Donald Trump 'Ambushes' South African President, Confronts Him, Video Trends
US

Drama as Donald Trump 'Ambushes' South African President, Confronts Him, Video Trends

  • American President Donald Trump used a White House meeting to confront South African President Cyril Ramaphosa
  • The US leader accused the country of failing to address claims of widespread and targeted killing of white farmers
  • To back his claims of genocide in South Africa, Trump played a video in the Oval Office in an awkward moment

Washington, USA - US President Donald Trump used a White House meeting on May 21 to confront South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

As reported by the Los Angeles Times, the American leader accused South Africa of failing to address the alleged killing of white farmers.

Donald Trump ambushes South African president and confronts him/Donald Trump confronts South Africa's president in US
US President Donald Trump blindsides South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during their White House meeting on May 21 over claims of 'white persecution'. Photo credit: Chip Somodevilla
Source: Getty Images

NDTV World also noted the tense meeting.

Billionaire Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa, had repeatedly claimed that there is a genocide against white people in the country; comments that Trump eventually began echoing.

At the tense White House meeting, the US President stated:

"People are fleeing South Africa for their own safety."

At a point, Trump dimmed the lights in the Oval Office to play a video of South African opposition figure Julius Malema singing a controversial anti-apartheid song that includes lyrics about killing a farmer.

The US leader added:

"Their land is being confiscated and in many cases they’re being killed."

Trump had previously terminated all US aid to South Africa and extended a welcome to numerous white farmers, granting them refugee status in the United States, while advocating the notion that genocide was unfolding in the nation.

The US President subsequently appeared prepared to confront Ramaphosa in the Oval Office, a scene which has been of frequent occurrence since he and Vice President JD Vance shouted at visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a few months ago.

How Ramaphosa reacted to Trump's allegation

Ramaphosa responded to the opposition chants in the video, saying:

"What you saw - the speeches that were made - that is not government policy. We have a multiparty democracy in South Africa that allows people to express themselves.
"Our government policy is completely against what [Malema] was saying even in the parliament, and they are a small minority party, which is allowed to exist according to our constitution."

Ramaphosa said on May 21 that he hoped Trump would listen to the voices of South Africans on this issue instead of the current narrative.

He pointed out the white members of his delegation, including golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, and South Africa's richest man, Johann Rupert.

How Donald Trump confronted South African President with 'white persecution' claims/Donald Trump and Cyril Ramaphosa
Cyril Ramaphosa and Donald Trump engage in a tense meeting in the White House's Oval Office on May 21, 2025. Photo credit: @Marwa_Osman
Source: Twitter

Ramaphosa said:

"If there was a genocide, these three gentlemen would not be here."

Trump interrupted:

"But you do allow them to take land, and then when they take the land, they kill the white farmer, and when they kill the white farmer, nothing happens to them."

Ramaphosa responded emphatically:

"No."

The video of Trump's video 'proof' has been widely shared on social media.

Is Trump's allegation against South Africa true?

There were 12 murders on farms in 2024, the Associated Press (AP) reported, citing police statistics.

One of the victims was a farmer, and the rest were farmworkers, none of whom were identified by race, according to the media platform.

White farmers own roughly three-quarters of South Africa’s privately owned land, according to government data.

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Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Ridwan Adeola avatar

Ridwan Adeola (Current Affairs Editor) Ridwan Adeola Yusuf is a content creator with more than nine years of experience, He is also a Current Affairs Editor at Legit.ng. He holds a Higher National Diploma in Mass Communication from the Polytechnic Ibadan, Oyo State (2014). Ridwan previously worked at Africa Check, contributing to fact-checking research works within the organisation. He is an active member of the Academic Excellence Initiative (AEI). In March 2024, Ridwan completed the full Google News Initiative Lab workshop and his effort was recognised with a Certificate of Completion. Email: ridwan.adeola@corp.legit.ng.