The Oval Office has seen some strange things, but May 21, 2025, probably takes the cake for pure, unadulterated tension. Imagine the scene: two world leaders sitting by the fireplace, the usual diplomatic pleasantries replaced by a literal flick of the light switch. Donald Trump actually asked his staff to "turn the lights down" so he could play a five-minute compilation for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
It wasn't a highlight reel of trade deals.
Instead, the video leaned into claims of "white genocide," featuring clips of opposition leaders singing "Kill the Boer" and aerial footage of what Trump described as massive burial sites for white farmers. Honestly, it was a moment that felt more like a reality TV ambush than a high-level bilateral meeting. While Trump leaned in, asserting that farmers were facing "death, death, death, horrible death," Ramaphosa sat there, mostly expressionless, occasionally craning his neck to see the screen.
The Video Trump Played for the South African President: Breaking Down the Clips
The footage wasn't just a random collection of TikToks; it was a curated set of clips that have been circulating in right-wing circles for years. Basically, it focused on two main things: inflammatory political rhetoric and visual "proof" of mass killings.
One of the most contentious parts of the video showed Julius Malema, the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), leading a crowd in an old anti-apartheid struggle song. The lyrics, "Shoot the Boer" or "Kill the Boer," are incredibly polarizing in South Africa. While a South African court ruled in 2022 that the song does not constitute hate speech or incitement, for the white Afrikaner community, it sounds like a literal threat. Trump used this to argue that the South African government was at least tacitly endorsing violence.
🔗 Read more: No Kings Day 2025: What Most People Get Wrong
Then came the "graves."
The video featured a drone shot of hundreds of white crosses lined up in a field. Trump pointed to this as proof of a massacre. However, fact-checkers from Reuters and the BBC quickly pointed out a major discrepancy. Those weren't actual graves. They were part of a 2020 protest—a symbolic memorial—set up by farmers to draw attention to rural crime. When Ramaphosa asked where the site was, Trump didn't have an answer. "I'd like to know where that is," Ramaphosa said, "because this I've never seen."
Fact-Checking the "Genocide" Claims
To understand why this meeting was so explosive, you've got to look at the numbers. South Africa has a staggeringly high murder rate—roughly 72 people a day in a nation of 60 million. It’s a violent place, no doubt about it. But the "genocide" label is where the data starts to diverge from the narrative Trump was pushing.
- Victim Demographics: According to 2024 data from the South African Police Service, the vast majority of murder victims in the country are Black.
- Farm Murders: While farm attacks are a brutal reality, the total number of farmers killed annually is a tiny fraction of the overall murder rate. Out of 26,000 murders in 2024, only a handful were white farmers.
- Land Expropriation: Trump claimed land was being seized and owners executed. In reality, while South Africa has passed a law allowing for land expropriation without compensation, the actual seizure of occupied, productive white-owned farms hasn't happened on the scale described in the Oval Office.
Why the White House Dimmed the Lights
Trump’s decision to play the video wasn't just a whim. It was the culmination of a weeks-long shift in U.S. foreign policy toward Pretoria. By May 2025, the Trump administration had already cut all U.S. aid to South Africa. They had also started fast-tracking "refugee" status for white Afrikaners, welcoming dozens to the U.S. just days before Ramaphosa arrived.
💡 You might also like: NIES: What Most People Get Wrong About the National Institute for Environmental Studies
Elon Musk, who was actually present at the White House during these talks, has been a massive amplifier of these claims on X (formerly Twitter). He’s frequently posted that the South African government is "openly racist" and has even engaged with content suggesting a genocide is imminent. Having the world's richest man—a South African native—whispering in the President's ear clearly influenced the tone of the meeting.
Ramaphosa didn't come alone, either. He brought a delegation designed to counter the "anti-white" narrative. He was accompanied by John Steenhuisen, his agriculture minister who is white, and legendary golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen. It was a clear attempt to show that South Africa is a multi-racial democracy, not a killing field.
A Tense Exchange in Front of the Cameras
The dialogue during the press gaggle was about as blunt as it gets. Trump kept insisting that "the farmers are not Black," to which Ramaphosa countered that "People who do get killed... are not only white people. Majority of them are Black people."
It was a total clash of worldviews.
📖 Related: Middle East Ceasefire: What Everyone Is Actually Getting Wrong
Trump framed the situation as "the opposite of apartheid," suggesting that white people were now the persecuted minority. Ramaphosa, a man who was central to the anti-apartheid struggle, essentially told Trump he didn't know what he was talking about. He told reporters afterward that he believed there was "doubt and disbelief" in Trump's head despite the theatrics, though the official U.S. stance remained unchanged.
The Fallout and Future of US-SA Relations
The relationship between the U.S. and South Africa is basically at its lowest point since the early 1990s. Beyond the "genocide" claims, the U.S. has been furious over South Africa’s foreign policy—specifically its ties to Iran and its vocal support for Palestinian causes at the International Court of Justice.
For the average person watching this, it’s hard to parse the truth because the emotions are so high. The South African government is definitely struggling to get a handle on crime, and rural farmers are undeniably vulnerable. But calling it a "genocide" carries a specific legal and historical weight that most international observers say isn't supported by the facts on the ground.
If you’re trying to keep track of this saga, keep an eye on two things. First, watch the U.S. refugee numbers; if more Afrikaners start arriving at Dulles, it means the Trump administration is doubling down. Second, look at the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade benefits. There is heavy talk in Washington about stripping South Africa of these benefits entirely.
Actionable Insights:
- Verify Visuals: When you see "burial site" videos on social media, check for geographic markers or historical dates. Many clips used in the 2025 meeting were years old or from different countries (including one image of humanitarian workers in the DRC).
- Monitor Trade Policy: If you have business interests involving South African exports (like wine, citrus, or minerals), the current diplomatic frostiness could lead to sudden tariff hikes.
- Read Local Reports: To get a clearer picture of farm safety, look at reports from organizations like AfriForum (which represents farmers) alongside official SAPS crime stats to see the nuance between "high crime" and "targeted genocide."