By Asad el Malik
May 22, 2025

In what was expected to be a delicate and possibly combustible meeting, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and U.S. President Donald Trump came face to face in Washington, D.C. on May 21, 2025. The highly anticipated bilateral discussion took place amid swirling controversy, just days after the United States granted P-1 refugee status to a group of white South African Afrikaners, citing unsubstantiated claims of a “white genocide” in South Africa.

A Diplomatic Start, A Contentious End

The public portion of the meeting began with unusually diplomatic gestures from both leaders. President Trump acknowledged Ramaphosa as a well respected leader, while Ramaphosa spoke of the historic bonds between the two nations. But the tone quickly shifted once the press began asking questions—particularly about the refugee designation for Afrikaners, a decision critics argue is rooted more in racial bias than humanitarian urgency.

When asked by an NBC reporter why white South Africans are being granted refugee status while Temporary Protected Status (TPS) has been revoked for vulnerable groups like Venezuelans and Haitians, Trump responded by attacking the reporter and the outlet, calling them “fake news.” He evaded the question entirely and launched into a tirade about undocumented immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, repeating long-debunked claims that they are largely criminals, drug dealers, and mentally unstable individuals.

Pivoting back to South Africa, Trump claimed his administration has heard “many stories” from white farmers “fleeing persecution” and insisted that there are a lot of disturbing stories about the killing of white farmers.

Ramaphosa Responds

When a journalist directly asked Trump, “What will it take for you to be convinced that there is no white genocide in South Africa?” Ramaphosa stepped in. “It will take President Trump listening to the voices of South Africans—some of whom are his good friends like those here today,” he said, gesturing toward three white members of his delegation. “If there were an Afrikaner farmer genocide, I could bet you these three gentlemen would not be here.”

Unfazed, Trump insisted that “thousands of stories” and “documentaries” support the genocide claim. In a jarring moment, he ordered a staff member to play a video clip of Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema chanting “kill the Boer,” a controversial slogan long debated in South African political discourse. President Ramaphosa appeared visibly uncomfortable as the clip played.

Attempting to regain composure, Ramaphosa addressed another portion of the video, which featured rows of white crosses allegedly representing murdered white farmers. “Have they told you where that is?” he asked Trump. Trump replied “No,”  before pulling out printed articles detailing violent crimes against white South Africans.

Land, Lies, and Legacy

Trump continued to repeat the baseless claim that the South African government is “taking people’s land” and “in many cases… executing them,” especially white farmers. Ramaphosa countered firmly stating there is criminality in South Africa but denied that it is race-based. He used the opportunity to call for international cooperation in addressing crime and strengthening policing.

In a bid to clarify the situation further, Ramaphosa invited South Africa’s Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, to speak. Steenhuisen acknowledged the challenges of rural violence and noted that Black farmers often face heightened threats, including livestock theft and infrastructure decay.

Johann Rupert, a billionaire businessman and part of the South African delegation—and a known associate of Trump—added weight to Ramaphosa’s comments. “We have too many deaths, but it’s across the board,” he said. “It’s not only white farmers,” Rupert added. He then insisted that South Africa needs help integrating technology into policing.

A Fractured Optic

Though framed as a state visit to affirm diplomatic ties, the meeting exposed the fault lines between American populist narratives and South African realities. Ramaphosa attempted to maintain composure and correct misinformation, but Trump dominated the public optics with inflammatory language and curated propaganda.

Whether this meeting will yield any substantive collaboration remains to be seen. But what is clear is that the U.S. refugee system, and the broader discourse on race, crime, and migration, continues to reflect deep global divides—often colored more by ideology than evidence.