By Zukile Majova
- Trump played videos of Malema chanting “Kill the Boer” and claimed white farmers are being killed and forced to flee the country.
- President Cyril Ramaphosa kept calm under pressure and urged the United States to keep trade ties alive to save South African jobs.
United States President Donald Trump has publicly attacked EFF leader Julius Malema, saying he should be arrested for spreading racial hatred.
Trump brought up Malema’s political “gimmick” of chanting old struggle slogans during his first public meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa in Washington.
In what appeared to the beginning of an ambush against Ramaphosa, Trump even dimmed the lights to play videos of Malema shouting “Kill the Boer, Kill the farmer” at rallies. The videos also showed white crosses, said to represent white farmers killed in South Africa.
“We have many people that feel they’re being persecuted, and they’re coming to the United States… Generally, they’re white farmers and they’re fleeing South Africa,” Trump said at a White House press conference.
Ramaphosa said his party, the ANC and his government, were opposed to Malema’s utterances but tolerated it because the South African Constitution allowed for free political expression.
Trump also created doubt about whether the United States would attend the G20 Summit in Johannesburg in November.
Earlier this year, Trump posted on his social pages: “How could we be expected to go to South Africa for the very important G20 meeting when land confiscation and genocide is the primary topic of conversation?”
President Ramaphosa remained calm throughout the tense meeting. He admitted that crime in South Africa was a big problem and had created fear, especially among farmers living in remote areas.
But Ramaphosa focused on improving trade. He pleaded with Trump to continue supporting the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which allows South African goods to enter the US tax-free.
Ramaphosa said AGOA has helped secure more than 500,000 jobs and supports over 600 American businesses that operate in South Africa.
“The trade relations are the most important. That’s what brought us here. We want to come out of the United States with a really good trade deal and investment promotion,” he said.
Businessman Johann Rupert told Trump that crime was affecting all South Africans, not just white farmers. He urged American tech companies to help fight crime using drones.
Rupert also called on South African-born billionaire Elon Musk to invest in local policing by offering Starlink satellite internet services to the police.
Democratic Alliance leader and Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen told the meeting that his party joined forces with Ramaphosa to keep Malema’s EFF and Jacob Zuma’s MK party out of power.
He said farmers who attended the recent Nampo agricultural expo still believed in South Africa and wanted to stay.
South African golf legends Ernie Els and Retief Goosen also joined the delegation. They spoke about the need to reduce crime and grow the economy.
Image Caption: US president Donald Trump hosting president Cyril Ramaphosa at the Oval Office
Image source: X
