PResident Trump asked an assistant to reduce the lights of the oval office, then, with a line of journalists in the room, has embedded the head of South Africa.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and his delegation looked in an amazed silence on images which, according to Trump, argued his claims that the Ramaphosa government made his eyes on violence against white Afrikaners. When Trump identified cross images along a road like the marked tombs of murdered white farmers, Ramaphosa said he had not seen this before and would discover where he had been filmed. The video has also shown that South African opposition leaders calling for the death of white farmers. Ramaphosa said that he had condemned these remarks and that his political coalition had been built to sidelines those who call for violence.
It was another tense confrontation between Trump and an American ally, organized by the White House to ventilate these tensions in front of the world. Trump leafed through what he said was press articles printed on the killed white farmers. “These people in many cases are running – they are white and most of them are farmers,” said Trump.
President Ramaphosa said there were many violent crimes in the country, but citizens in black and white are both targets. “There is crime in our country. People who are unfortunately killed by criminal activities are not only whites,” Ramaphosa told Trump.
Learn more:: American-South African tensions have explained
Ramaphosa has tried several times to direct the conversation to a safer land. He told Trump that South Africa offered many mineral exchange opportunities to stimulate American manufacturing. He thanked Trump for agreeing to send supporters from South Africa during the Pandemic COVID-19. He welcomed Trump’s efforts to negotiate peace agreements in places like Ukraine, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ramaphosa’s openings began with a call for Trump’s love for golf, saying that he had given him a “truly fantastic book” of 30 pounds of South African golf courses. Ramaphosa said he “started to practice golf” and was ready to play with Trump. He too brought two legendary South African golfers – Ernie Els and Retief Goosen – in the oval office with him to speak with Trump.
Ramaphosa’s visit intervenes at a time of high tension between South Africa and the Trump administration. Earlier this month, Trump offered a refugee status to 59 white South Africans who, according to Trump, were targeted for violence. The South African government was also a vocal defender of the Palestinians in Gaza, seeing their houses destroyed and access to food cut by the Israeli army, a frustrated position of officials of the Trump administration.
