South Africa’s Ramaphosa and Trump Reset. What Could Be the Result?

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and United States President Donald Trump faced off in a tense White House meeting on Wednesday, aiming to mend a fractured relationship strained by disputes over land reform, geopolitics, and competing narratives about racial violence in South Africa. The meeting, billed as a bid to “reset strategic ties,” instead laid bare deep divisions, with Trump doubling down on unverified claims of “white genocide” and Ramaphosa countering with a diplomatic push for partnership. 

The meeting marked the first face-to-face discussion between the leaders since U.S. sanctions hit South Africa. The Trump administration had expelled South Africa’s ambassador, blocked U.S. agencies from supporting South Africa’s G20 summit preparations, and cut aid to the continent’s largest economy. Central to the rift are South Africa’s alignment with the BRICS bloc, its criticism of Israel, and Trump’s accusations of “anti-West” posturing. 

President Trump opened the meeting in a combative tone, airing a video purporting to show violence against white South Africans and resurrecting debunked claims of “mass killings” and “white genocide.” “You’re taking people’s land away from them,” Trump asserted, referencing South Africa’s land expropriation law, a contentious policy aimed at redressing apartheid-era dispossession. Over 70% of the nation’s farmland remains owned by white South Africans, who constitute 7% of the population. 

Ramaphosa, flanked by a strategic delegation including South Africa’s wealthiest businessman, Johann Rupert, and global sports icons, refused to take the bait. Calmly rebutting Trump’s claims, he emphasized that crime “affects all South Africans” and stressed ongoing reforms. “The U.S. can choose to be a partner in progress, not just a critic,” he stated, pivoting the conversation to trade opportunities. 

The South African leader’s poised demeanor contrasted sharply with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s outing in the white house, where it got to the extent of almost exchanging blows.

The meeting is a step towards countering South Africa’s global image distorted by viral misinformation. Trump has amplified fringe voices, including firebrand politician Julius Malema’s “Kill the Boer” chants and claims by the white nationalist group AfriForum, conflating land reform with Zimbabwe-style chaos under Robert Mugabe. Ramaphosa’s team sought to reframe the narrative, highlighting bipartisan efforts to address land redistribution through legal channels rather than confiscation. 

No breakthroughs emerged on trade, leaving the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)—a pact enabling $3 billion in annual South African exports to the U.S.—in limbo. However, South Africans praised their president for a dignified outing, which was earlier predicted to be a shakedown, and officials hinted at potential renegotiation at November’s G20 summit, possibly involving a 10% tariff compromise.

Analysts suggest Ramaphosa’s inclusion of business figures like Rupert, who has ties to Trump’s orbit, was a deliberate strategy to appeal to the former president’s transactional instincts, and while the meeting failed to ease immediate tensions, Ramaphosa’s team framed it as a first step in reclaiming South Africa’s narrative on the global stage. Yet challenges loom: land reform remains fraught, U.S. trade terms are uncertain, and Pretoria must still navigate its BRICS alliances amid Western skepticism. 

 Can a relationship marred by discord and misinformation evolve into one of cooperation, or will this “reset” become another footnote in a deepening divide?