By Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Alexander Winning
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -Facing a barrage of debunked claims from U.S. President Donald Trump that white people were being persecuted in his country, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa remained composed, pushed back politely and even tried to joke with Trump.
Ramaphosa may have drawn on his experience as the African National Congress’s lead negotiator in talks that led to the peaceful end of apartheid in 1994 during Wednesday’s televised confrontation in the Oval Office.
“His conduct was in keeping with the proud diplomatic tradition of President Nelson Mandela,” said Ramaphosa’s party the African National Congress, invoking the legacy of the revered liberation struggle leader and first Black president.
Repeatedly interrupted by Trump, Ramaphosa calmly challenged claims that minority Afrikaners were the targets of a “white genocide”. The once fringe theory has been exponentially amplified by Trump and his South African-born ally Elon Musk.
“There is criminality in our country. People who do get killed, unfortunately, through criminal activity are not only white people. Majority of them are Black people,” said Ramaphosa.
The way he handled Trump’s onslaught was mostly drawing praise back home on Thursday.
“President Ramaphosa did well to maintain a calm demeanour and he did well to stick to the facts as close as possible,” said author Pieter du Toit.
Political analyst Ralph Mathekga said Ramaphosa kept sight of the bigger picture and did not take the bait.
“There was never a sense of arrogance on the side of Ramaphosa. He managed his emotions in a tactful way,” he said.
Ramaphosa would have been braced for a hostile reception given Trump has cut aid to South Africa, threatened it with a 30% trade tariff under his “Liberation Day” regime, expelled its ambassador and offered refuge to Afrikaners based on claims of persecution Ramaphosa’s government says are unfounded.
Expectations of what the visit might achieve were therefore measured.
“Few of those who watched the spectacle would have been left with the impression that SA-US relations are set to improve,” said Louw Nel, senior political analyst at Oxford Economics.
“The South African president … is considered a master negotiator and his ability to charm audiences is well-known. But even he must be wondering if it was wise visiting the White House at this time,” he wrote in a note.
PERFORMANCE RATED ‘7/10’
Ramaphosa, 72, rose to prominence during apartheid as a mining union leader. After helping bring white minority rule to an end, he became a successful businessman before returning to frontline politics and becoming president in 2018.
His extensive network was evident in the Oval Office, where he was accompanied by luxury goods billionaire Johann Rupert, South Africa’s richest man, and by champion golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen.
“It was pragmatic of him to bring the golfers and Rupert, they are the sort of people Trump likes to speak with,” said Mathekga.
That pragmatism extended to inviting the three men and agriculture minister John Steenhuisen, all of whom are white, to address Trump, who listened to them without interrupting — in contrast to how he treated Ramaphosa.
“I’ll give it a 7/10 which is high for a Trump meeting,” said Phumzile van Damme, a former lawmaker from Steenhuisen’s party the Democratic Alliance, which is part of Ramaphosa’s coalition government.
“President Ramaphosa I’m sure wanted to avoid a Zelenskiy moment and that’s why he batted to Rupert and John (Steenhuisen),” she added, referring to Trump’s shouting match with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in February.
At the start of the meeting, Ramaphosa complimented Trump on his changes to the Oval Office decor, offered him a 14-kg book on South African golf courses and joked about having worked on his own golf so he could take on Trump, who loves the sport.
Even after Trump began his attacks and played a video that falsely purported to show thousands of graves of white farmers in South Africa, Ramaphosa tried to defuse tensions with humour.
Trump was raging at a reporter for asking about a luxury jet he has accepted as a gift from Qatar, when Ramaphosa interjected: “I am sorry I don’t have a plane to give you.”
Trump appeared unamused. “I wish you did,” he said, before resuming his attacks.
(Additional reporting by Bhargav Acharya and Nellie Peyton; Writing by Estelle Shirbon, Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
