Trump showed "grave sites" - was actually a ceremony
When South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the White House, Donald Trump showed a film that he claimed contained evidence that white farmers in South Africa are being subjected to genocide. It did not, the New York Times and CNN, which have fact-checked the film, state.
For example, what Trump claimed were "grave sites" for "over 1,000" white farmers were shown. According to both the New York Times and CNN, the white crosses that were seen were actually placed for a memorial ceremony, held in September 2020 for a white farming couple who were murdered in August of the same year. Photos on social media show the crosses being set up and images from Google Street View from 2023 show them being taken down, writes NYT.
White crosses have been used in several demonstrations to symbolize murdered farmers in South Africa. The country has an unusually high murder rate, but according to police statistics, neither white South Africans nor farmers are more vulnerable to violent crime than others. Only 36 of nearly 20,000 murders between April and December 2024 were linked to agriculture or small farms, writes CNN. Seven of these 36 victims were farmers. Skin color is not shown in the statistics.
When South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the White House, Donald Trump showed a film that he claimed contained evidence that white farmers in South Africa are being subjected to genocide. It did not, the New York Times and CNN, which have fact-checked the film, state.
For example, what Trump claimed were "grave sites" for "over 1,000" white farmers were shown. According to both the New York Times and CNN, the white crosses that were seen were actually placed for a memorial ceremony, held in September 2020 for a white farming couple who were murdered in August of the same year. Photos on social media show the crosses being set up and images from Google Street View from 2023 show them being taken down, writes NYT.
White crosses have been used in several demonstrations to symbolize murdered farmers in South Africa. The country has an unusually high murder rate, but according to police statistics, neither white South Africans nor farmers are more vulnerable to violent crime than others. Only 36 of nearly 20,000 murders between April and December 2024 were linked to agriculture or small farms, writes CNN. Seven of these 36 victims were farmers. Skin color is not shown in the statistics.
Juholt: Trump's video coup an ambush - and a pure lie
The South African delegation led by President Cyril Ramaphosa was almost ambushed by Donald Trump and his administration when they visited the White House on Wednesday. This is what the outgoing South African ambassador Håkan Juholt tells SvD.
Trump showed clips of what he claimed was evidence that a genocide against white South African farmers is taking place - something that is "of course" wrong and a lie, says Juholt. He also notes that South Africa is a violent country and that around 26,000 people in the country were murdered last year.
– Twelve of them were white farmers. Those who are murdered in South Africa are consistently young, poor, black men, says Håkan Juholt.
Analysis: Ramaphosa kept his cool – it could have been worse
Many point to the similarities between Wednesday's heated exchange of words between Donald Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and what happened when Zelenskyj visited the White House at the end of February. The meeting between Trump and Ramaphosa derailed when the American president showed a film that he claims proves that genocide is taking place against whites in South Africa.
"A strange scene," writes Anthony Zurcher in an analysis in the BBC. He believes that Ramaphosa kept his cool in a completely different way than Zelenskyj did when Trump attacked the Ukrainian president.
“Ramaphosa may not leave Washington with the trade deals he had hoped for, but he also survived what could have been a much harder blow to US-South Africa relations,” he writes.
CNN’s Larry Madowo writes that nothing could have prepared Ramaphosa for the ambush that Trump had prepared for the meeting. There is no evidence that the accusations that Trump leveled at the South African president are true, he says.
“I expect the next meeting between the leaders, which will take place without any cameras present, will be extremely tense,” he writes.
The South African delegation led by President Cyril Ramaphosa was almost ambushed by Donald Trump and his administration when they visited the White House on Wednesday. This is what the outgoing South African ambassador Håkan Juholt tells SvD.
Trump showed clips of what he claimed was evidence that a genocide against white South African farmers is taking place - something that is "of course" wrong and a lie, says Juholt. He also notes that South Africa is a violent country and that around 26,000 people in the country were murdered last year.
– Twelve of them were white farmers. Those who are murdered in South Africa are consistently young, poor, black men, says Håkan Juholt.
Analysis: Ramaphosa kept his cool – it could have been worse
Many point to the similarities between Wednesday's heated exchange of words between Donald Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and what happened when Zelenskyj visited the White House at the end of February. The meeting between Trump and Ramaphosa derailed when the American president showed a film that he claims proves that genocide is taking place against whites in South Africa.
"A strange scene," writes Anthony Zurcher in an analysis in the BBC. He believes that Ramaphosa kept his cool in a completely different way than Zelenskyj did when Trump attacked the Ukrainian president.
“Ramaphosa may not leave Washington with the trade deals he had hoped for, but he also survived what could have been a much harder blow to US-South Africa relations,” he writes.
CNN’s Larry Madowo writes that nothing could have prepared Ramaphosa for the ambush that Trump had prepared for the meeting. There is no evidence that the accusations that Trump leveled at the South African president are true, he says.
“I expect the next meeting between the leaders, which will take place without any cameras present, will be extremely tense,” he writes.
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