Another Ambush In The Oval Office
The White House is officially a trap zone for world leaders
Somehow outdoing himself when it comes to Oval Office ambushes, Donald Trump launched an extraordinary confrontation against South African President Cyril Ramaphosa by pushing false claims of “white genocide” and unfair land seizures.
Originally planned as a meeting to build a better relationship between the two countries, the meeting came against the backdrop of the Trump government claiming there was a “genocide” against White people in South Africa, cut all foreign assistance to South Africa, imposing tariffs during “Liberation Day,” dissatisfaction against South Africa’s genocide case against Gaza, and allowing Afrikaner refugees to be flown into the US.
Ramaphosa thought he came into the meeting prepared, bringing two White South African professional golfers and the country’s White agriculture minister alongside with him and said: “If there was Afrikaner farmer genocide, I can bet you these three gentlemen would not be here.” Moreover, Ramaphosa brought a “really fantastic golf book” that weighs 14 kilograms, in a bid to bond with the US President over his favourite sport.
Taking the cue to deploy the trap, Trump ordered the White House to dim the lights and showcased video footage of Black activists calling for seizing the land of white farmers, with the most notable one being the firebrand South African opposition leader Julius Malema chanting “kill the Boer (Farmer)” which Trump claimed was an explicit call to murder Afrikaners. Malema’s Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) later put out a statement noting was "a song that expresses the desire to destroy the system of white minority control over the resources of South Africa” and a “part of African Heritage."
Another clip allegedly showed a long line of white crosses on the side of a highway, which were billed as “burial sites” for White farmers. Ramaphosa asked where this video is located, and groups like MeidasTouch verified that this location is the controversial private monument called the Witkruis Monument. Located in Limpopo province, there are no graves of dead farmers, and the site is just a field with white-painted metal crosses meant to represent victims of farm attacks.
Seeing a visibly shocked Ramaphosa, Trump went in for the kill by paging through articles from the "last few days" while repeating, "death, death, death." Despite attempts by Ramaphosa to push back against Trump’s lies, the US President continued to push baseless claims on South African politics. Trump proclaimed there is a genocide of white farmers in South Africa, a conspiracy theory pushed by prominent figures like Elon Musk, pointing towards the murders of white farmers in remote rural parts of the country as proof of ethnic cleansing. The South African government has strongly denied claims that they are turning a blind eye to farmer killings. South Africa has one of the world's highest murder rates, with most victims being Black.
Trump also claimed the South African government is expropriating land, including the use of violent land seizures, from white farmers without compensation to distribute it to Black South Africans. No land has been expropriated, and white farmers were encouraged to sell their land willingly. Trump is likely pointing to a law signed by Ramaphosa in 2024, allowing the state to expropriate land "in the public interest” in rare cases without compensating the owner.
If that wasn’t bad enough, what soon followed revealed how easily corruptible the current leader of the free world is. As the Pentagon officially accepted the luxury Qatar jet for Trump to use as a new Air Force One plane, which became the punchline for Ramaphosa, who said, “I am sorry I don't have a plane to give you.” Then, Trump made a jaw-dropping response: I wish you did. I'd take it. If your country offered the US Air Force a plane, I would take it.”
After that, when asked about the issue by NBC News’ Peter Alexander, Trump launched into a mad tirade. “NBC is trying to get off the subject of what you just saw,” Trump yelled. “You are a terrible reporter. Number one, you don’t have what it takes to be a reporter. You are not smart enough.” After repeatedly praising Qatar for doing a “very nice thing” by gifting the jet, Trump threatened NBC’s parent company, Comcast, and its chief, Brian Roberts, to “be investigated” for its news coverage.
Suffice it to say, many have linked the Ramaphosa meeting to Zelensky’s Oval Office kerfuffle a few months ago. At this point, if you are a world leader, why should you go into the White House and face the grilling by a president who is more than happy to share any grievance he has on your country? Given Trump’s loose connection to the facts and his tendency to ally himself with people who are also eager to spread disinformation about domestic and international politics, it makes international relations between states with the United States even more difficult.
Moreover, we can see how Trump views trade and most things in the world as a transactional business. After he imposed tariffs on every single country in the world, the White House has decided to use them as leverage to force countries to talk to them, and in some cases, subject world leaders to their version of humiliation that transforms to second-hand embarrassment for the rest of the planet.
During last year’s debate between Trump and Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate said this: “It is absolutely well known that these dictators and autocrats are rooting for you to be president again because they're so clear, they can manipulate you with flattery and favors.” As the Qatar deal and Ramaphosa’s joke revealed, that is not only the case, Trump is actively seeking bribes by foreign countries to keep himself happy. It would honestly not surprise me if Donald Trump starts releasing a memecoin and allowing anybody with interests connected to the government to pay decent money and get a luxurious dinner with him.
Oh wait, he is doing that right now.
After the ambush, South African Presidency spokesman Vincent Magwenya said in an interview that the “video and those articles had no credibility whatsoever. But from here onwards, we can now deal with substantive issues, because they’ve made the point, they will feel good they’ve made the point, and we can now focus on what needs to be done to take the relationship forward.”
In a sense of how bad the White House meeting is, CNN correspondent Larry Madowo said: "This was, overall, a very good day for white supremacists in South Africa because they got the validation they could've never imagined from the highest office in the land... these are the talking points that President Trump repeated.”