US and SA Relations
Wayne
Alexander
Inge
Herbert
Trump’s Stage, Ramaphosa’s Test
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa met U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House this week in an attempt to reinforce bilateral ties. But instead of progress, the South African delegation walked into a tightly choreographed performance — staged for a domestic U.S. audience, not international cooperation. In the weeks leading up to the visit, Trump and his political allies intensified inflammatory rhetoric against South Africa, reviving a debunked narrative about a so-called “genocide of white farmers.” Though long discredited by South African crime data and human rights monitors, the story remains popular among Trump’s conservative base, making it a convenient tool in his political arsenal.