WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday with explosive false claims of white “genocide” and unfair land seizures during a tense White House meeting that was reminiscent of his February ambush of Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Murder rates are high in South Africa, but the overwhelming majority of victims are Black.
Ramaphosa arrived prepared for an aggressive reception, bringing popular white South African golfers as part of his delegation and saying he wanted to discuss trade.
But in a carefully choreographed Oval Office onslaught, Trump pounced, moving quickly to a list of concerns about the treatment of whites, which he punctuated by playing a video and leafing through a stack of printed news articles that he said proved his allegations.
“We have many people that feel they’re being persecuted, and they’re coming to the United States. So we take from many ... locations, if we feel there’s persecution or genocide going on,“ Trump said, referring specifically to white farmers.
“People are fleeing South Africa for their own safety. Their land is being confiscated, and in many cases, they’re being killed.”
South Africa, which endured centuries of draconian discrimination against Black people during colonialism and apartheid before becoming a multi-party democracy in 1994 under Nelson Mandela, rejects Trump's allegations.
A new land reform law, aimed at redressing the injustices of apartheid, allows for...
PLANO, Texas — A Frisco physician has agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle allegations of submitting false claims to a federal COVID-19 reimbursement program, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Jay...