President Trump Claims There Is White Genocide Practice And Land Confiscation When Receiving President Ramaphosa

JAKARTA - United States President Donald Trump claimed that there was a practice of genocide and land confiscation when he received South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House on Wednesday.

President Ramaphosa hopes to use Wednesday's meeting to reorganize his country's relations with the US after President Trump canceled much-needed aid for South Africa, offering protection to the white African minority, expelling the country's ambassador and criticizing the genocide court case against Israel.

South African president arrived with preparations for aggressive acceptance, bringing in a popular South African white golfer as part of his delegation and saying he wanted to discuss trade.

The US itself is South Africa's second-largest trading partner, and the country faces a 30 percent tariff based on President Trump's current suspended import tax series.

President Trump discussed concerns about whites at the meeting in the Oval Room, moving quickly to a list of concerns about the treatment of South African whites, which he emphasized by playing videos and turning over piles of print news articles that he said proved his accusations.

With the lights turned off at Trump's request, a video - played on television that is usually not installed in the Oval Room - shows a white cross, which Trump says is a white grave, and opposition leaders deliver inciting speeches. President Trump suggested one of them, Julius Malema, should be arrested.

The video was made in September 2020 during protests after two people were killed on their farm a week earlier. The cross did not mark the real grave. A protest organizer told South African public broadcaster at the time that they represented farmers who had been murdered for years.

"Many people feel persecuted, and they come to the United States," President Trump said.

"So, we take it from many locations, if we feel there is persecution or genocide that is happening," he added, referring specifically to white farmers.

"People fled South Africa for their own safety. Their land was confiscated, and in many cases, they were killed," the president added.

South Africa, which experienced centuries of violent discrimination against blacks during colonialism and apartheid before becoming multiparty democracy in 1994 under Nelson Mandela, rejected President Trump's accusations.

President Trump always brings the receipts. 🧾🧾🧾 pic.twitter.com/lokUUwqglP

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 21, 2025

President Trump always brings the reports. pic.twitter.com/lokUUwqglP

President Ramaphosa, who sits on the chair next to Trump and remains calm, has rejected his claim.

"If there is genocide against African farmers, I'll bet, these three men won't be here," said President Ramaphosa, referring to golfers Ernie Els and Retiefless and billionaire Johann Rupert, all white, who were present in the room.

That doesn't satisfy Trump.

"We have thousands of stories talking about it, and we have documentaries, we have news," said President Trump.

"That must be responded to," he said.

The new land reform law, aimed at correcting apartheid injustice, allows land confiscation without compensation if for the public interest, for example if the land is abandoned.

No such confiscation of land has occurred, and any orders can be sued in court.

The South African Police recorded 26,232 killings across the country in 2024, with 44 of them associated with the agricultural community. Eight of the victims were farmers.

President Ramaphosa mostly sat without expression during the video presentation, occasionally sticking his neck out to see the screen. He said he had never seen the material before and wanted to know its location

President Trump then showed a printed copy of an article that he said showed a white South African person who had been killed, saying "dead, dead" as he turned it around, and finally handed it over to his partner.

President Ramaphosa said there was a crime in South Africa, and the majority of the victims were black.

President Trump cut his talks and said: "Farmers are not black."

"This is a problem we want to talk to you about," replied President Ramaphosa.

South African president cited the example of the late former President Nelson Mandela as a peaceful carrier, but that did not move the US president, whose political base includes white nationalists.

The myth of white genocide in South Africa has become a gathering point for right-wing people in the United States and elsewhere.

"I would say: apartheid, dire," said President Trump, asserting "This is the opposite of apartheid."

Following the meeting, President Ramaphosa sought to focus on trading, telling reporters that the two countries had agreed to discuss essential minerals in South Africa.

However, President Ramaphosa has also firmly denied President Trump's accusations of a wave of racial violence against white farmers.

"There is no genocide in South Africa," he said.