JOHANNESBURG — On Wednesday, President Donald Trump is set to host a crucial meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House. This meeting proceeds despite Trump’s recent controversial comments, made last Friday, where he accused South Africa of being “out of control” and engaging in genocide.
During his return on Air Force One from the Persian Gulf, Trump reiterated his assertion that White Afrikaner farmers in South Africa are being violently targeted and dispossessed of their lands. These Afrikaners are descendants primarily of Dutch settlers who arrived in South Africa in 1652.
On CBS, Secretary of State Marco Rubio expanded on these allegations on Sunday, stating that “all evidence [indicates] the farmers in South Africa are being treated brutally.”
Some 50 Afrikaners were flown to the U.S. as refugees last week. Rubio said there’s “more to come”. South Africa, and its president, denies claims of genocide and harassment.
South African Embassy officials Vusimuzi Madonsela, seated right, and Cornelius Scholtz, seated second left, talk at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, on May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Cronje told Fox News Digital that Ramaphosa and his country badly need the U.S.
“At home, Mr Ramaphosa is presiding over economic stagnation, with South Africa facing a rate of economic growth estimated at just over 1% together with an unemployment rate of over 30%. Mr. Ramaphosa will, therefore, be under great pressure to secure a deal.”
Some 600 U.S. companies operate in South Africa. Ramaphosa has taken four top ministers to Washington hoping to offer new deals, especially reportedly on natural gas, minerals and agricultural product sales to the U.S., and possibly finally the licensing of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet system in South Africa.
Cronje noted a military perspective the U.S. will also want to consider: “South Africa commands the southern sea route between the Indian and Atlantic oceans, which is an important trade and naval choke point.”
Meizlish added that South Africa “holds vast mineral wealth and could anchor U.S. investment in Africa, but that doesn’t mean we should turn a blind eye to its alignment with America’s enemies.”
President Donald Trump listens to a question during an event at the Oval Office on May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
South Africa’s chief rabbi, Dr. Warren Goldstein, told Fox News Digital that South Africa could “easily withdraw” its ICJ case against Israel if it wanted to, adding that “opinion polls show that there is very little domestic support for his (Ramaphosa’s) anti-Israel stance, with most holding positive views towards Israel, sharing the same conservative Christian values that deeply resonate with Mr. Trump’s support base in the U.S.”
Meizlish said, “This visit can’t be about optics or deals that fail to address the root of South Africa’s malign foreign policy. Trump needs to push Ramaphosa to make substantive, structural reforms in his country’s foreign policy while also creating pathways for greater U.S. investment. It can’t just be one or the other.”
As South African politicians swept through Washington on Tuesday on a major lobbying exercise, trying to get traction on the idea of focusing on trade, Rubio told senators during a hearing that a reset in relations might be possible.
“If there’s a willingness on their side to reset relations, obviously [that’s] something we’ll explore, but we do so with eyes wide open to what they’ve done so far,” he said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the South African government for comment but received no response.
