President Donald Trump confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House over the issue of white farmers being attacked. Several notable political figures and celebrities, such as Elon Musk, have brought attention to the plight of the white minority in South Africa.
There are reports of these people being attacked on farms simply because of racism. The United States has invited victims of this practice to seek refuge. A plane of 59 South African Afrikaners arrived in the USA earlier this month. This number may, however, seem low to many people due to a high level of news coverage. The mainstream (mostly leftist) media wants to point this story out as a point of hypocrisy (and racism because the farmers are white) for the Trump administration who have clamped down on asylum seekers.
There is a large group on the right who see this is as evidence that there is a problem with white farmers in South Africa. President Trump confronted Ramaphosa with evidence of the “genocide” against white farmers. This evidence includes a 5 or 6 minute montage of political figures and others in South Africa calling for the death of white farmers.
The available statistics from South Africa don’t necessarily support the idea of a genocide against white farmers. An average of 50 deaths per year happen on farms… with no mention to race or motive. This is in contrast to the whopping 27,500 killings that happened in South Africa in 2023… which is extremely high for a nation of just 65 million people. South Africa has one of the highest per capita homicide rates in the world… and 80% of it is black-on-black.
SOURCES:
False data distort complex picture of South African farm murders | Fact Check
Are protesters right on South Africa farm murder rate?
Fact-checking Trump’s claims of white farmer ‘genocide’ in South Africa | PBS News
Race, sex, and mean age distribution of homicide victims in four major… | Download Table
As police lose war on crime in South Africa, private security companies step in : NPR
Trump administration welcomes 59 white South Africans as refugees | AP News
Trump-Ramaphosa meeting: The South African road incorrectly identified as a ‘burial site’ by US president
South Africa’s Ramaphosa to visit Trump: Can they fix tricky relations? | Donald Trump News | Al Jazeera
In South Africa, Trump’s false claims spark a renewed racial reckoning – The Washington Post
