Tense Oval Office Meeting as Trump Presses Ramaphosa on White Farmer ‘Genocide’ Claims

Washington – A meeting meant to restore diplomatic ties between the United States and South Africa took a dramatic turn on Wednesday, when former U.S. President Donald Trump unexpectedly confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with controversial allegations of a “white genocide” taking place in South Africa.

During a highly unusual moment in the Oval Office, Trump had his staff play a four-minute video that he claimed proved white South African farmers were being persecuted, forced off their land, and even murdered. The video, shown in front of the press, featured far-left opposition leaders in South Africa allegedly calling for violence against white people. Trump argued that black politicians were encouraging land seizures and attacks on white farmers.

“You do allow them to take land, and then when they take the land, they kill the white farmer, and when they kill the white farmer, nothing happens to them,” Trump stated as the video played. He also displayed news clippings in support of his claims—although one image, incorrectly cited as South African, was actually from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“Death, death, death. Horrible death,” Trump repeated as the video concluded.

President Ramaphosa, initially stunned, remained composed throughout the exchange. Calmly disputing Trump’s claims, he clarified that South Africa does not seize land from white farmers under the new land expropriation law, which was passed in January to address apartheid-era land inequalities.

“No, no, no, no. Nobody can take land,” Ramaphosa responded. He further explained that the video showed opposition politicians, not government officials, and stressed that most violent crime victims in South Africa are black citizens, not white farmers.

The meeting, originally promoted as a chance to reset diplomatic ties after months of strained rhetoric, especially around unproven “white genocide” claims, was attended by two of South Africa’s legendary golfers, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen. The athletes were invited in part to appeal to Trump, a known golf enthusiast.

“We are essentially here to reset the relationship between the United States and South Africa,” Ramaphosa said early in the meeting. However, as the video played and Trump took control of the conversation, Ramaphosa was often interrupted and struggled to be heard. At one point, visibly uncomfortable, he asked, “Where is this?” while trying to respond to the content shown.

The video included a clip of controversial opposition leader Julius Malema chanting “Kill the Boer, kill the farmer,” a slogan from the anti-apartheid era. It ended with images of white crosses along a South African roadside—intended as a protest symbol—though Trump claimed they were actual graves of murdered farmers.

Still seeking to calm tensions, Ramaphosa reminded Trump of South Africa’s peaceful democratic traditions. “We were taught by Nelson Mandela that whenever there are problems, people need to sit down around the table and talk about them,” he said. He also urged that the matter be addressed “very calmly.”

The golfers also spoke briefly. “We want to see things get better in our home country. That’s the bottom line,” said Ernie Els.

Despite the uncomfortable moment, Ramaphosa tried to present the meeting in a positive light afterward. He told reporters that the discussions had been a “great success” and that he believed Trump might still attend the upcoming G20 summit in Johannesburg this November.

Asked whether he believed Trump genuinely supported the “white genocide” narrative, Ramaphosa replied, “In the end, I do believe that there is this doubt and disbelief in his