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WHY SOUTH AFRICA IS TORN OVER THE TRUMP-RAMAPHOSA SHOWDOWN  
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Sizwe Mpofu Walsh
May 23, 2025
TIME
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_ Pretoria must now accept that Washington will inflame racial
tensions in South Africa for the foreseeable future. What happens in
our country is no longer just a foreign-policy file, but a live
domestic wedge issue in MAGA-world.  _

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In a surreal display
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diplomatic theater on Wednesday, President Donald Trump subjected his
South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa to watch fabricated
evidence
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a “genocide” against white farmers.

Back home, Ramaphosa briefly enjoyed a wave of sympathy for remaining
composed during what was the latest ambush of a foreign leader
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Office. 

That is partly because U.S. news outlets—from morning talk shows to
late-night satires—have debunked
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and the South African-born Elon Musk’s claims with fresh vigor. For
many South Africans, long frustrated by caricatured coverage of our
country, the scrutiny is a belated but welcome corrective.

Few myths are as pernicious or cynically weaponized as the “white
genocide” conspiracy theory. South Africa’s real story is one of
endemic violence and unfinished justice. Under apartheid, the Black
majority was stripped of political rights, confined to just 13% of
the land [[link removed]],
and persecuted remorselessly under a complex system of racist laws.
White farmers came to dominate the economy, and three decades into
democracy, the imbalance persists
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Violent crime, meanwhile, is a scourge afflicting every community. To
single out white victims distorts the nation’s trauma and turns a
shared tragedy into a divisive fiction—one which Trump has
turbocharged. It also mocks the millions of Black South Africans who,
after surviving one of history’s great evils, have nevertheless
largely extended a hand of reconciliation
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their white compatriots.

Despite all of this, most South Africans were left with mixed feelings
over the White House showdown. The encounter Ramaphosa had billed in
advance as a “reset” must now read as a bogey. His attempt to turn
the briefing into a public-relations coup—and to trade on his
reputation as a deft negotiator has collapsed. 

Pretoria must now accept that Washington will inflame racial tensions
in South Africa for the foreseeable future. What happens in our
country is no longer just a foreign-policy file, but a live domestic
wedge issue in MAGA-world. 

To be sure, Ramaphosa had chalked up some foreign policy wins in
recent months. Following February’s uproar over Trump’s executive
order fast-tracking refugee status
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white Afrikaners, European Council President António
Costa reaffirmed
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E.U.’s “commitment to deepen ties with South Africa as a reliable
and predictable partner.” A month later, European Commission
President Ursula von der Leyen landed in Cape Town to unveil
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€4.7 billion ($5.1 billion) Global Gateway investment
package—Europe’s signal that its door remains open to Pretoria.

Pretoria’s genocide case
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Israel at the International Court of Justice has also earned it vocal
support from capitals spanning Madrid
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Lumpur
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By challenging both Israel over Gaza and Trump over the “white
genocide” conspiracy theory, Ramaphosa has positioned his government
as a rare voice willing to push back against great-power narratives.

Yet South Africa’s fundamentals remain grim. Unemployment is above
32%
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there is persistent poverty, violent crime claims over 70 lives a day
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and income inequality is the worst worldwide
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Trump, had he wished to embarrass Pretoria, could have wielded that
domestic ledger more effectively than any conspiracy theory video.

Corruption deepens the malaise. No episode captures the rot more
vividly than the Phala Phala affair
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involving Ramaphosa himself. In 2020, burglars crept into his
game-farm, slit open a leather sofa, and disappeared with bundles of
undeclared U.S. dollars—leaving the head of state, a Black farmer,
both a victim of crime and a symbol of murky governance.

Each unanswered question and stalled prosecution erodes public faith a
little further. Ramaphosa and his ruling African National Congress
party have presided over 30 years of misgovernance and Black
stagnation, and the ANC’s grip on power is now looking shakier. The
party in June 2024 lost its parliamentary majority
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the first time since the end of apartheid.

Pretoria will not convince Trump—or Musk—out of the “white
genocide” myth. For now, its realistic goals are to limit U.S.
tariffs, reassure investors, and head off threats of targeted
sanctions
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senior officials. History shows that second-term U.S. presidents shed
influence fast as the lame-duck clock starts ticking; Trump’s
approval ratings already hover near 40%, below
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Biden’s or Barack Obama’s at the same stage of their presidencies.
The smartest play for South Africa now is containment and damage
limitation, while relations remain in the rough_._

_Sizwe Mpofu Walsh [[link removed]] is a
South African academic, and podcaster, and the author of The New
Apartheid
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_TIME is a global media brand built on 100 years of unparalleled trust
and authority, with an audience of more than 100 million people
worldwide across our platforms. Created in 1923, TIME
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* South Africa
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* Cyril Ramaphosa
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* Donald Trump
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