Trump seizes on videos of a fringe South African politician as evidence of threats to white farmers

NEW YORK – President Donald Trump confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa connected Wednesday with claims that achromatic farmers are being targeted and killed successful the country. Trump's main evidence, compiled successful a video shown during their Oval Office meeting: Speeches by a person who was kicked retired of Ramaphosa's party, is not portion of the conjugation that governs the state and whose ain governmental question garnered little than 10% of the ballot successful past year's elections.

The Trump medication has utilized the rhetoric of a fringe person and South Africa's endemic unit arsenic justification for allowing achromatic South Africans to use to go refugees successful the United States, adjacent arsenic the state has stopped accepting each different refugees and seeks to oust from the state immigrants specified arsenic Afghans who assisted the U.S. military.

Some of Trump's allies person seized connected Julius Malema's far-left Economic Freedom Fighters to reason that South Africa is engaged successful genocide against achromatic farmers, a contention that seemed to baffle Malema's main governmental rival, Ramaphosa, during his Oval Office visit. Ramaphosa repeatedly stressed that EFF is “a tiny number party.”

Trump seems to beryllium relying connected representations from definite affluent achromatic South Africans, including his adjacent adviser, Elon Musk, who was astatine Wednesday's gathering and has repeatedly posted clips of Malema singing an aged anti-apartheid opus with the lyrics “kill the Boer” and “shoot the Boer” connected his X account. Boer refers to the country's achromatic farmers.

“Very fewer radical cognize that determination is simply a large governmental enactment successful South Africa that is actively promoting achromatic genocide,” the Tesla and SpaceX CEO posted successful March alongside a video of the song. “Where is the outrage? Why is determination nary sum by the bequest media?”

When a newsman asked Trump for his presumption connected whether a genocide is underway successful South Africa, helium said, “I haven’t made up my mind.”

The Oval Office video ended with an aerial changeable of a enactment of achromatic crosses on a roadworthy that Trump claimed showed burial sites for achromatic farmers killed successful South Africa. Local quality reports from the state amusement that the crosses alternatively were portion of a objection successful 2020 aft a achromatic mates was killed connected their farm. The video gained caller beingness earlier this twelvemonth and has been posted by Musk.

Ramaphosa seemed baffled by the video, turning to Trump arsenic it was being shown earlier saying, “I’d similar to cognize wherever that is, due to the fact that this I’ve ne'er seen.”

The crosses lucifer those featured connected a hillside memorial successful South Africa that claims to people astir 3,000 killings of achromatic farmers successful a state that registers much than 20,000 murders a year.

Ramaphosa noted that astir execution victims successful South Africa are Black. He said that if Trump listened to “the voices of South Africans,” helium would better recognize the situation. A visibly frustrated Trump countered that “we person thousands of stories,” and past confronted Ramaphosa with video of Malema calling for Black South Africans to instrumentality implicit onshore adjacent if the president tells them they cannot.

“That is not authorities policy,” Ramaphosa protested. “Our authorities argumentation is wholly against what helium is saying, adjacent successful the Parliament.”

Ramaphosa's cultivation minister, John Steenhuisen, who is white, added that helium had joined the governing conjugation to marque definite “that lot” ne'er gains powerfulness successful South Africa.

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Riccardi reported from Denver and Magome from Johannesburg. Associated Press writer Melissa Goldin.

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