WASHINGTON, D.C. – A high-stakes Oval Office meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa took an unexpected turn on Wednesday when Trump played a video claiming to show persecution of White South Africans.
The surprise screening occurred in front of senior officials, including Elon Musk, the South Africa-born tech mogul and Trump adviser, who stood silently during the tense exchange.
Trump, flipping through a stack of articles, told Ramaphosa: “We have thousands of stories talking about it. We have documentaries, we have news stories.” He then instructed aides to dim the lights and play the nearly five-minute clip, later posted on the White House’s official X account under the caption: “Proof of Persecution in South Africa.”
Ramaphosa appeared caught off guard. Laughing nervously, he asked a member of his delegation, “Have they told you where that is?” He then turned to Trump and said, “I’d like to know where that is, because this, I’ve never seen.”
Trump responded simply: “It’s in South Africa.”
The meeting, initially billed as a bilateral engagement to boost trade and reset diplomatic ties, quickly shifted to a contentious back-and-forth about Trump’s claims of White “genocide” in South Africa. These allegations, long denied by Pretoria, have been echoed by Trump and members of his administration in recent months. Ramaphosa pushed back strongly, pointing to White South Africans in his own delegation — including golfers Retief Goosen and Ernie Els, and Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen — as evidence against the accusation.
“If there was Afrikaner farmer genocide, I can bet you these three gentlemen would not be here,” Ramaphosa said.
Trump, pressed by reporters to clarify what he wanted Ramaphosa to do, offered little direction. “I don’t know,” he said.
The meeting was also marked by unrelated tension when a journalist asked Trump about reports involving a Qatari plane possibly being donated to the U.S. Air Force. Trump lashed out, telling the reporter to “get out of here” and dismissing the query as irrelevant.
🚨 JUST SHOWN IN THE OVAL OFFICE: Proof of Persecution in South Africa. pic.twitter.com/rER1l8sqAU
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 21, 2025
Moments later, Ramaphosa joked: “I’m sorry I don’t have a plane to give you.” Trump replied: “If South Africa offered a jet, I would take it.”
Ramaphosa said the purpose of his Washington visit was to “reset” ties between the two countries, describing South Africa as a “tiny economy” that nevertheless shares mutual interests with the U.S., including the trade of critical and rare-earth minerals.
Tensions between Washington and Pretoria have deepened in recent months. Trump fast-tracked refugee status for 59 White South Africans earlier this year, citing “persecution,” while freezing aid to the country in February. In March, the U.S. expelled South Africa’s ambassador.
The South African government continues to reject all allegations of systemic persecution of its White population.
The meeting ended without a joint statement, and the video played during the meeting continued to spark debate online.
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