In a contentious Oval Office encounter on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump stunned South African President Cyril Ramaphosa by accusing South Africa of perpetrating a “genocide” against white Afrikaner farmers — a claim long discredited by experts. The meeting, which Ramaphosa hoped would ease tensions between the two nations, quickly spiraled into controversy as Trump presented news clippings and videos, including footage of South Africans singing the anti-apartheid song Dubul’ ibhunu (“Kill the Boer”), to support his allegation.
Ramaphosa firmly rejected the accusation, stating, “If there was Afrikaner farmer genocide, I can bet you, these three gentlemen would not be here,” referring to white South Africans Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, and billionaire Johann Rupert, who accompanied him. Experts, including historian Saul Dubow of the University of Cambridge, dismissed Trump’s claims, noting that while South Africa faces high crime rates, the violence is overwhelmingly non-political and disproportionately affects Black citizens.
Trump’s dramatic display, which included a dimmed Oval Office and a five-minute video montage, came just weeks after his administration flew 59 white South African “refugees” to the U.S. Meanwhile, critics pointed out the inconsistency of welcoming South African migrants while revoking protections for displaced people from Venezuela, Haiti, Afghanistan, and Cameroon. Some observers linked Trump’s rhetoric to political retaliation over South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
