In a surprise move that’s already stirring up international debate, President Donald Trump has confirmed that he’s making special exceptions in US immigration policy to allow white Afrikaner South Africans to enter the country as refugees.
This comes as the first group of 49 Afrikaners arrived in the US on Sunday, greeted warmly by officials in Washington.
A “Terrible Situation” in South Africa, Says Trump
Speaking at a press conference at the White House on Monday, Trump described the situation in South Africa as dire, insisting that white farmers are in danger and that the US has a moral duty to step in.
“Because they’re being killed, and we don’t want to see people be killed,” he said when pressed on why Afrikaners were being prioritized over applicants from war-torn regions like Sudan or the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Claims of a Hidden Genocide
Trump didn’t hold back in his criticism of the media either. He accused the press of ignoring what he described as a “genocide.”
“There is a genocide that is taking place that you people don’t want to write about,” Trump claimed.
He also mentioned an upcoming G20 meeting and warned that the US might skip attending unless South Africa addresses the issue.
Trump Highlights Farm Killings
The president’s core argument centers around farm attacks in South Africa.
He said that white farmers are being brutally killed and that their land is being seized, yet the story gets very little attention in mainstream media.
“Whether they are white or black, it makes no difference to me,” Trump added.
“But white farmers are being brutally killed and their land is being confiscated…
If it were the other way around, it would be the only thing you’d hear about.”
Ramaphosa Pushes Back on Trump’s Claims
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa wasn’t having any of it.
According to Ramaphosa, the idea that white Afrikaners are being persecuted is simply false.
He said he spoke with Trump directly to correct the narrative.
“I told him that what he’s heard from anti-transformation voices back home just isn’t true,” Ramaphosa said.
“We were taught by Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo how to unite our people, not divide them.”
A History Lesson from Ramaphosa
Ramaphosa went on to remind the world that South Africa’s colonial past is unlike any other on the continent.
“We’re the only African country where the colonizers came and stayed,” he noted.
“We never drove them out.
They’re here, they’re part of the nation, and they’re doing well.”
A Diplomatic Standoff Brewing?
This refugee decision could have broader diplomatic consequences, especially as it relates to US-South Africa relations and broader African foreign policy.
Trump’s stark comments and visa bending have opened a new chapter in an already tense conversation about race, land, and international politics.