Trump Revives ‘White Genocide’ Myth in Misguided Talk With Ramaphosa

In a meeting meant to strengthen diplomatic ties, former U.S. President Donald Trump took a detour — into conspiracy territory.

During a visit by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to the White House this week, Trump played a video he claimed showed evidence of mass killings of white farmers in South Africa. The video featured a dirt road marked by rows of white crosses, somber figures, and tractors — all aimed at painting a picture of “white genocide.”

But the truth was far less sensational.

The video had already been debunked. It was filmed at a 2020 community memorial in Newcastle for a murdered farming couple. The crosses were symbolic and temporary — not mass graves. Google Street View from 2023 even shows the area cleared of crosses long ago.

Still, Trump leaned into the narrative. He pulled out headlines and printouts from fringe sources, including the right-wing blog American Thinker, and pointed to completely unrelated images — such as a photo of body bags from a prison break in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“Death of people, death, horrible death,” Trump declared, flipping through his material. “These are all white farmers being buried.”

But statistics from South Africa tell a different story.

While attacks on farmers — both white and Black — are a concern, they are not racially targeted in the way Trump suggests. South Africa grapples with a much broader violence crisis, where about 75 people are murdered every day, the vast majority of them young Black men in urban areas.

Even South African billionaire Johann Rupert, who was present at the meeting, tried to set the record straight. “Yes, there are murders,” Rupert told Trump, “but it’s across the board. It’s not only white farmers.”

Ramaphosa largely stayed composed throughout the exchange. But when Trump brought up Julius Malema — showing a video of the EFF leader singing “Kill the Boer” — Ramaphosa calmly clarified that Malema is not part of the government and does not speak for the state.

The meeting, instead of fostering cooperation, ended up highlighting how easily viral misinformation and political agendas can twist facts into dangerous narratives. Trump’s claims are not new — the idea of a white genocide in South Africa has been widely circulated in right-wing circles for years, despite being repeatedly discredited by researchers, human rights groups, and South African data.

New @AFP:

Donald Trump brandished a stack of articles at the White House today that he claimed documented a genocide against white people in South Africa.

Mixed into the deck of papers, however, was a months-old blog post featuring a photo from the DRC.https://t.co/YddTtT9lwJ pic.twitter.com/odgrGmZgBt

— Bill McCarthy (@billdmccarthy) May 21, 2025

In fact, back in 2018, Trump tweeted about “large-scale killings” of white farmers in South Africa, prompting outrage and confusion. That, too, was based on misleading media coverage and online conspiracies.

This week’s Oval Office encounter shows the myth is still being used — not to protect lives, but to stir fear and score political points.

While Trump has not confirmed whether he’ll attend the G20 Summit in South Africa later this year, one thing is clear: for South Africans, dealing with real issues like poverty, inequality, and violence requires more than foreign leaders recycling outdated headlines and debunked claims.

{Source: IOL}

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