In a fiery Oval Office meeting today, President Donald Trump confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with what he claimed was evidence of a "genocide" against white Afrikaner farmers, escalating tensions between the U.S. and South Africa.

The meeting, intended to focus on trade and bilateral relations, veered into a contentious debate over racially charged claims, with Trump dimming the lights to play a video montage featuring inflammatory rhetoric and alleged proof of persecution.

Ramaphosa pushed back, calling the narrative false and urging Trump to listen to South Africans, while the exchange laid bare deep divisions in U.S.-South Africa relations.

The controversy erupted when a reporter asked, "What will it take for you to be convinced that there’s no white genocide in South Africa?"

Ramaphosa responded, “It will take President Trump listening to the voices of South Africans, some of whom are his good friends, like those who are here. When we have talks... it will take President Trump to listen to them. I’m not going to be repeating what I’ve been saying."

"I would say if there was Afrikaner farmer genocide, I can bet you these three gentlemen would not be here, including my Minister of Agriculture," the South African head of state continued. "He would not be with me. So, it’ll take him, President Trump, listening to their stories, to their perspective."

Undeterred, Trump countered, "Mr. President, I must say, we have thousands of stories talking about it, and we have documentaries, we have news stories... I could show you a couple of things, and it has to be responded to. Let me see the articles please and turn the lights down...”

Trump then asked his staff to play a video featuring clips of South African opposition leader Julius Malema chanting "Kill the Boer! Kill the farmer!" and "Shoot to kill!" at rallies, alongside images of white crosses Trump claimed marked the graves of murdered farmers.

WATCH:

Ramaphosa, visibly uncomfortable, questioned the video’s context, stating, "I’d like to know where that is because this, I have never seen."

He insisted that Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters, which won 9% of the vote in recent elections, do not represent government policy.

"We have a multiparty democracy in South Africa that allows people to express themselves," he said. "Our government policy is completely against what he was saying.

The issue of white Afrikaner farmers has been a flashpoint in U.S.-South Africa relations since Trump signed an executive order in February 2025, fast-tracking refugee status for 59 Afrikaners, citing "racial discrimination" and a debunked "genocide."

The order, which suspended aid to South Africa and expelled its ambassador, also criticized South Africa’s 2024 Expropriation Act, which allows land seizures in rare cases to address apartheid-era inequalities.

South African officials, including Ramaphosa, have rejected these claims, noting that white South Africans, who make up 7% of the population, own 72% of farmland and face lower murder rates than Black citizens.

Trump adviser Elon Musk, a South African-born billionaire, was present in the Oval Office meeting Wednesday, and has accused Ramaphosa’s government of anti-white policies.

"I don't want to get Elon involved. That's all I have to do, get him into another thing," Trump said to as the room erupted in laughter. "But Elon happens to be from South Africa. This is what Elon wanted. He actually came here on a different subject — sending rockets to Mars — OK? He likes that better. He likes that subject better. But Elon's from South Africa, and I don't want to talk to him about that. I don't think it's fair to him."

South Africa’s Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen, a white Afrikaner, countered, "My party, the Democratic Alliance, chose to join forces with Ramaphosa’s to keep those people out of power."

Ramaphosa attempted to steer discussions toward trade and the G20 summit South Africa will host in November.

He warned that Trump’s proposed 30% tariffs could devastate South Africa’s economy, which exported $100 million of citrus to the U.S. in 2024.

Trump remained noncommittal on trade and the G20, focusing instead on land seizures and violence.

Following the contentious meeting at the White House, Malema, whose anti-white rhetoric fueled the controversy, doubled down, defending land expropriation and reposting a song reiterating his party’s slogan, "Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer! Victory is Certain!"

"A group of older men meet in Washington to gossip about me. No significant amount of intelligence evidence has been produced about white genocide," Malema tweeted. "We will not agree to compromise our political principles on land expropriation without compensation for political expediency."

South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal has upheld Malema’s right to sing the apartheid-era song, ruling it is not hate speech, despite Afrikaner groups and Musk labeling it genocidal.

Following today’s meeting, no trade agreements were announced, and Trump’s tariffs loom as a threat to South Africa’s economy.

WATCH: