South Africa Faces Setbacks After Oval Office Meeting on Controversial White Genocide Claims

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa entered the Oval Office hoping to reset diplomatic relations.

He set a conciliatory tone by sharing a light moment with President Trump over a golf joke, offering a book as a gift, and expressing gratitude for the respirators provided to South Africa amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It truly touched my heart,” Ramaphosa remarked.

Ahead of the meeting, South African officials emphasized their intention to avoid addressing President Trump’s recent and widely discredited assertions of white genocide. Their focus was to remain on trade tariffs, South Africa’s mineral wealth, and enhancing commercial ties.

However, Ramaphosa left the White House with diminished leverage and no clear gains. His efforts to sidestep the contentious topic of white genocide allegations and the recent designation of 59 white South Africans as refugees by the U.S. administration appeared to backfire dramatically.

South Africa now faces the prospect of increased tariffs, no assurances of a new trade deal, and a lost opportunity to challenge the ongoing accusations that overlook the economic disparities between the country’s white minority and the Black majority.

Patrick Gaspard, a former U.S. ambassador to South Africa, warned that without meaningful reconciliation, such diplomatic setbacks could further burden struggling South Africans.