“I wish you did…if your country offered the US a plane, I would take it,” Trump replied after criticising a reporter for questioning the US on accepting a Boeing 747-8 luxury jetliner as a gift of from Qatar
on the same day.
Trump then proceeded to show images of killings of Afrikaners, a white ethnic minority that once led the apartheid government — which CNN investigations confirm cannot be termed genocide.According to the South African Police Service, only 0.2% of the total 19,696 murders between April 2024 and December 2024 were linked to farms.
Ramaphosa pushed back and repeatedly asserted that dialogue and two-way communication is key to resolving any issues in the bilateral relationship.
“When we have talks, it would take President Trump listening to them. I’m not going to be repeating what I’ve been saying. It will take President Trump listening to the voices of South Africans, some of whom are his good friends like those who are here,” he said.
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Ramaphosa further explained that South Africa experiences a high rate of criminal activities and that a partnership with the US to boost tech capabilities will help the country address them.
“We were taught by Nelson Mandela that whenever there are problems, people need to sit around a table and talk about it…I would say if there was African farmer genocide, I can bet you these three gentlemen would not be here including my Minister of Agriculture. It would take him (Trump) listening to their stories, their perspectives,” he added.
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