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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa walked into an ambush when he met President Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday.
After a cordial beginning, where Ramaphosa was at pains to stress his desire to improve relations with the United States, things turned hostile. Trump repeated false claims of a “white genocide” in South Africa and then ordered the lights dimmed to play videos he said supported his allegation.
Ramaphosa attempted to correct the U.S. leader, but mostly got talked over. He explained the videos of opposition politician Julius Malema singing an apartheid-era struggle song called “Kill the Boer” — which means farmer or Afrikaner — did not represent government policy.
In fact, Malema is a populist who was expelled from Ramaphosa’s African National Congress party. Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters party won just 9% of the vote at national elections last year.
“They are a small minority party,” Ramaphosa said. Trump then asked why Malema wasn’t arrested. Malema has been taken to court over the song, but South Africa’s constitution allows freedom of speech. Asked by reporters if he condemned the singing of the historic song, Ramaphosa said he did.
Trump also played a video that he said was of “a burial site” of murdered white farmers. Ramaphosa said: “Have they told you where this is? I’d like to know where this is?” South African media are reporting the video of white crosses is likely one that has been making the rounds on social media for...
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