Trump's attempt at Oval Office 'gotcha' moment backfired spectacularly - all because Ramaphosa kept his cool

[Eugene]

Source: The Independent

Trump’s attempt at Oval Office ‘gotcha’ moment backfired spectacularly - all because Ramaphosa kept his cool

ANALYSIS: Armed with printouts of tabloid news articles and a montage of video clips, Trump launched into a meandering explanation of the current political situation in South Africa to its president Cyril Ramaphosa, Richard Hall writes.

Wednesday 21 May 2025 20:06 BST

It looked for a moment as though the South African president had avoided a trap.

For weeks ahead of Cyril Ramaphosa’s White House visit, MAGA world had been promoting unsubstantiated claims about a hidden “white genocide” in the country. Donald Trump himself called it a “genocide,” as his administration officials greeted 59 white South Africans as “refugees” at the airport last Monday in D.C.

So, Ramaphosa came prepared. He brought with him two of the president’s favorite golfers and a giant book about golf. His introductory remarks were a tour de force of diplomacy, and the meeting was on track to avoid the doomed fate of Volodymyr Zelensky’s in February.

Then, a voice from the back of the room sparked chaos.

“What will it take for you to be convinced that there's no white genocide in South Africa?” a reporter with a South African accent shouted.

What followed was perhaps one of the most egregious demonstrations of whitesplaining in living memory.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-south-african-president-meeting-ambush-b2755510.html

Alternate link: https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-channels-conspiracy-theory-loving-190628121.html

[Eugene]

1. Ramaphosa keeps cool during Trump's choreographed onslaught

Source: BBC

Ramaphosa keeps cool during Trump's choreographed onslaught

21 May 2025

Gary O'Donoghue
BBC News, Chief North America Correspondent

Three months into Donald Trump's second term, foreign leaders should be aware that a coveted trip to the Oval Office comes with the risk of a very public dressing down, often straying into attempts at provocation and humiliation.

Wednesday's episode with South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa was a classic of its kind, with the added twist of an ambush involving dimmed lights, a lengthy video screening and stacks of news story clippings.

As television cameras rolled, and after some well-tempered discussion, Trump was asked by a journalist about what it would take for him to be convinced that discredited claims of "white genocide" in South Africa are untrue.

Ramaphosa responded first, by saying the president would have to "listen to the voices of South Africans" on the issue. Trump then came in, asking an assistant to "turn the lights down" and put the television on, so he could show the South African leader "a couple of things".

-snip-

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c753rlw4430o

[Deuxcents]

2. TSF thrives on chaos but when it wasn't reciprocated, he went full bizarro for the world to see.

[magicarpet]

3. Where did the video of White Genocide in South Africa come from shown in the Oval Office ?

Is that info provided to trDUMP by his co-presidunce eLoon ? The road with all the white crosses on both sides was a bogus display supposedly showing a memorial to thousands of White farmers killed in a campaign of White Genocide. It was later proven to be a flagrant lie by trDUMP.

Does that man (djt) ever utter anything truthful ?

[hlthe2b]

4. Off topic a bit, but I love his name, "Ramaphosa"... Sounds like an Egyptian pharaoh. 😀