South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will meet with Donald Trump on May 21, despite concerns that Trump may humiliate him like Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Ramaphosa is confident he can use the meeting to correct Trump’s misconceptions about South Africa, including the claim that White Afrikaner farmers are victims of genocide, and propose friendly trade conditions.
Ramaphosa’s advisers believe his experience negotiating the end of apartheid and his ability to handle difficult situations will help him navigate the meeting with Trump. “He knows how to handle situations like this,” said Sanusha Naidu, senior research associate at the Institute of Global Dialogue in Cape Town. “He wasn’t the negotiator for the South African political transition for nothing — he is not easily ruffled.”
The meeting comes after the US chartered a plane to fly dozens of White South Africans to Washington as refugees, and Trump repeated the conspiracy theory that White Afrikaner farmers are victims of genocide. However, a South African court ruled in February that there was no evidence to support the claim, calling the idea “clearly imagined and not real.”
Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen, who will accompany Ramaphosa to Washington, said, “I think there’s going to be a big opportunity for us and President Ramaphosa to dispel some of the misinformation and myths that have been spread in the US about what’s happening in South Africa.” “This nonsense about genocide, this nonsense about mass expropriation of properties — it is simply not true.”
Ramaphosa aims to approach Trump ready to make trade concessions around the automotive, critical mineral, and agriculture sectors. Minister of Infrastructure Dean McPherson said the cabinet had signed off on “reasonable and rational proposals” to present to Trump. “It is in the country’s interest that the US and South Africa have a close bilateral relationship — economically it’s crucial,” McPherson said. “We can’t afford to say we don’t care about the US.”
Some analysts believe Ramaphosa’s non-aligned stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could be an advantage in the meeting, given Trump’s views. However, the Washington Post reported that the Trump administration had banned US agencies from working with the G-20, leaving some South African officials convinced that the meeting won’t thaw tensions.
JP Landman, an independent political analyst, noted, “The man has been chased by a police dog — do you think he’s frightened by Trump?” “You can’t predict these things, but he’s a very shrewd and experienced negotiator.”