Trump urges Ramaphosa to arrest Julius Malema
Tensions ran high in the White House as former U.S. President Donald Trump blindsided South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during their Oval Office meeting by playing a series of video clips featuring EFF leader Julius Malema.
The footage, which Trump used to bolster his controversial claims of a so-called “white genocide” in South Africa, caught Ramaphosa and his delegation off guard.
Just as Ramaphosa was attempting to dismiss the notion of targeted attacks on white farmers, explaining that crime affects all citizens regardless of race, Trump interrupted the conversation.
“But Mr President, we have thousands of stories talking about it, and we have documentaries, we have news stories. I could show you a couple of things, it has to be responded to,” Trump insisted, before instructing aides to dim the lights and roll the video.
What followed was a montage of clips featuring Malema’s most provocative moments. One showed him in Parliament declaring that black South Africans would occupy land without seeking permission from the government or anyone else
“We don’t care, you can do whatever you want to do. Who are you to tell us whether we can occupy land or not? South Africans occupy land, that’s who we are.”
Another excerpt featured Malema stating: “You must never be scared to kill. A revolution demands that at some point there must be killing.”
He also sang the controversial Kill the Boer chant and in a separate clip, made a statement likening racial justice to targeting a white man to inflict pain, referencing “slitting the throat of whiteness.”
The video was shown moments after a South African journalist questioned Trump on what evidence would convince him there was no systemic violence against white South Africans.
Ramaphosa attempted to take control of the narrative, offering a personal guarantee.
“If there was Afrikaner farmer genocide, I can bet you these three gentlemen would not be here, including my Minister of Agriculture,” he said, gesturing to the delegation which included Johann Rupert, John Steenhuisen, and golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, all of whom are white South Africans.
He added: “It will take President Trump listening to the voices of South Africans, some of whom are his good friends like those who are here. I’m not going to be repeating what I’ve been saying. We will have to sit down and talk around a quiet table.”
The EFF fired back shortly after, condemning Trump’s actions and accusing him of deliberately misrepresenting Malema’s words.
In a strongly worded statement, the party said the clips were taken out of context and were “rooted in liberation history,” not incitement.
“We will defend our constitutional democracy and never bow and succumb to imperialism,” they declared, accusing Ramaphosa’s delegation of “groveling” in front of foreign powers.
Trump, meanwhile, doubled down, calling for Malema’s arrest and reiterating his belief that South Africa’s land reform efforts are racially biased.
Civil rights group Afriforum remained vague when asked if the footage came from their archives, with spokesperson Kallie Kriel stating only, “I can neither confirm nor deny.”
Despite the diplomatic strain, Ramaphosa maintained composure and later referenced Nelson Mandela, calling for continued U.S. engagement in global leadership, as South Africa prepares to hand over the G20 chairmanship to the United States later this year.
President Cyril Ramaphosa meets Donald Trump at the White House, where Trump plays a montage of Julius Malema’s videos. pic.twitter.com/bDHJqhB0Kl
— Hopewell Chin’ono (@daddyhope) May 21, 2025
