Donald Trump ambushes South African president at White House meeting by playing video alleging genocide

Donald Trump has ambushed South Africa’s president during a White House meeting by playing a video purportedly showing evidence of a “genocide” of white people in the African country.

The US president, who was hosting leader Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office, said the footage showed the graves of more than a thousand white farmers and “it’s a terrible sight… I’ve never seen anything like it. Those people are all killed”.

After an initial friendly chat where Mr Trump complimented South African golfers in the room, a montage of clips was played as Mr Ramaphosa sat quietly and mostly expressionless. He later said: “I’d like to know where that is because this [the alleged burial site in the video] I’ve never seen”.

The lights were dimmed in the Oval Office as the videos were shown, including of South African officials allegedly calling for violence against white farmers.

‘Reminiscent of Trump’s ambush of Zelenskyy’ 

The scene in the heart of the White House administration was reminiscent of Mr Trump’s ambush of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February.

But later, as he left after around three hours at the White House, Mr Ramaphosa insisted his meeting with Mr Trump went “very well”.

The White House’s official account on X posted the footage that was shown in the Oval Office, saying it was “proof of persecution in South Africa”.

South Africa has rejected the allegation that white people are disproportionately targeted by crime.

The clips included one of a communist politician playing a controversial anti-apartheid song that includes lyrics about killing a farmer.

Mr Trump accused South Africa of failing to address the killing of white farmers. “People are fleeing South Africa for their own safety,” the US president said. “Their land is being confiscated and in many cases they’re being killed.”

Alluding to people in the videos, Mr Trump said: “These are people that are officials and they’re saying… kill the white farmer and take their land.”

The US president then displayed printed copies of news articles that he said showed white South Africans who had been killed, saying “death, death” as he flipped through them.

He added of one article: “Here’s burial sites all over the place, these are all white farmers that are being buried.”

South African leader rejects allegations

Mr Ramaphosa pushed back against Mr Trump’s accusations, by responding: “What you saw, the speeches that were being made, that is not government policy. We have a multi-party democracy in South Africa that allows people to express themselves, political parties to adhere to various policies.

“And in many cases, or in some cases, those policies do not go along with government policy.

“Our government policy is completely, completely against what he [a person in the video montage] was saying, even in the parliament. And they are a small minority party which is allowed to exist in terms of our constitution.”

Mr Ramaphosa also said of the behaviour alleged by Mr Trump: “We are completely opposed to that.”

The South African leader said there was crime in in his country, and the majority of victims were black. Mr Trump cut him off and said: “The farmers are not black.” The South African president responded: “These are concerns we are willing to talk to you about.”

Mr Trump has cancelled aid, expelled South Africa’s ambassador and offered refuge to white minority Afrikaners based on racial discrimination claims which Pretoria says are baseless.

Experts in South Africa have said there is no evidence of white people being targeted, although farmers of all races are victims of violent home invasions in a country that suffers from a very high crime rate.