Trump accuses South African government of genocide against white farmers
發佈日期: 2025-05-22 21:47
TVB News
U.S. President Donald Trump hosted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House while accusing the country's government of allowing a "genocide" to take place against minority white farmers.
Afrikaner farmers say this claim is false and there's no evidence of it. Ramaphosa also tried to rebuff the assertions but was frequently interrupted by Trump, who repeated the claims.
This as Trump sent mixed signals about participating in the G20 summit hosted by South Africa this year.
Sitting side-by-side in the Oval Office, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visiting in hopes of reaching new trade agreements.
But President Trump wanted to talk about white South African farmers allegedly being systematically singled out for persecution and murder.
Trump said: "And those cars aren't driving. They're stopped to pay respects to their family member who was killed. And it's a terrible sight. I've never seen anything like it."
Ramaphosa replied: "Have they told you where that is Mr. President? I'd like to know where that is because this I've never seen."
But Trump wasn't finished. "Look," said Trump. "These are articles over the last few days. A death of April. Death, death, death, horrible death."
On the streets of Johannesburg, South Africans reacted to the White House meeting between Trump and Ramaphosa.
International relations expert Westen Shilaho said: "It didn't go as well as President Ramaphosa expected. Trump was pretty much prepared for him and he ran with that narrative of South Africa being a very violent society. Perpetrating targeted killings against white farmers, his choice of words, horrible things happening there. And therefore, the president (Ramaphosa) at this time did not have a comeback as far as that perception is concerned. They didn't succeed in allaying that perception, I think they were caught off guard."
Student Dumisani Mnisi said: "I honestly don't understand why Ramaphosa is actually in the United States when Trump has made it very clear how he feels about South Africa, and his feelings on South Africa especially with what happened recently regarding the Afrikaners just leaving. I also think that it's been used as a lure by Elon Musk to kind of negotiate Starlink being used in South Africa and I think that's very problematic."
