21 of May, Cyril Ramaphosa rolled into the White House hoping to smooth-talk Donald Trump with a delegation featuring South African golf legends Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, plus a 14-kilo book showcasing the country’s premier fairways. The plan? Patch up a fractured U.S.-South Africa relationship after Trump’s February executive order yanked aid and booted South Africa’s ambassador over the claims of a “white genocide” against farmers.
But what unfolded was a Trump-style ambush (Zelensky-style) —part policy showdown, part reality TV drama—that laid bare raw tensions, with commentator Douglas Murray calling it a rare moment of truth in global discourse. Trump really has a way of polarizing the public, either people love these moves or they think Trump is a awful person for using these tactics.