President Donald Trump made South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visibly uncomfortable during an Oval Office meeting Wednesday by showing a video compilation of officials from his nation calling for the death of white Afrikaner farmers and for their land to be taken.
In February, Trump issued an executive order establishing a special refugee status for Afrikaners, who are victims of unjust racial discrimination, including threats of violence and land confiscation.
During the Oval Office meeting, Ramaphosa denied that there is a genocide taking place in his country directed at white farmers.
Trump responded, “We have thousands of stories talking about it. And we have documentaries. We have news stories.”
“Turn the lights down and just put this on. It’s right behind you,” he said to Ramaphosa.
South African politician Julius Malema came on the screen, calling for the confiscation of land and the murder of Afrikaners. “A revolution demands, at some point, there must be killing,” he said.
“Shoot to kill, kill the Boer, the farmer,” Malema chanted before a cheering crowd in a stadium.
WATCH: @POTUS shows South African President Cyril Ramaphosa a video compilation of what’s taking place against white farmers in South Africa pic.twitter.com/80rQqiT2qi
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 21, 2025
Would any other recent U.S. president have had the guts to do this?
The BBC reported, “Malema, the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, is a fierce critic of what he sees as ‘Western imperialism’, and also advocates the nationalisation of white-owned land in South Africa.”
“The EFF is the fourth-largest party in South Africa, getting 9.5% of the national vote in elections last year,” the outlet added. Ramaphosa is part of the African National Congress, which has been the governing party since 1994, when the nation’s first post-apartheid election was held.
A different black man also could be heard in the video compilation calling for land to be confiscated. “If they object, they can seek [to be] a refugee in America.” Whites make up about 7 percent of South Africa’s population.
Trump pointed to the screen at one point, indicating footage he said showed crosses depicting approximately 1,000 white farmers who have been killed.
Ramaphosa responded to the video, saying, “I’d like to know where it is, because this I have never seen.”
The Witkruis Monument in South Africa. Each white cross represents a murder from a farm attack. The road on both sides is lined with memorials, represents even more White farmer murders in South Africa at the hands of racist blacks.
Democrats believe White famers aren’t worth… pic.twitter.com/tAp87aMRnA
— Dane (@UltraDane) May 15, 2025
In January, South Africa enacted a law that allows the government to confiscate land without compensation in some cases or for “just and equitable” payment in others.
Regarding the killing of farmers, data compiled by the Transvaal Agricultural Union of South Africa — a commercial farmers’ union made up mostly of Afrikaners — shows that there were 32 farm murders in 2024, down from 50 in 2023 and 43 in 2022. There have been a total of almost 2,300 farm murders since 1990.
Factcheck.org noted that most, if not all, the farmers murdered were white.
Trump also held up articles he said were from the last few days in South Africa reporting on the deaths of people.
President @realDonaldTrump shows the President of South Africa articles of white farmers being killed
“Death, death, death” pic.twitter.com/TFDitglXaO
— Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) May 21, 2025
“Death, death, death, horrible death,” the president said as he leafed through them.
Referring back to the video, Trump said, “These are people that are officials, and they’re saying, ‘Kill the white farmer and take their land.’”
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