The South African president calmly challenged claims that minority Afrikaners were the targets of a "white genocide". The once fringe theory has been exponentially amplified by Trump and Elon Musk.

Mr Ramaphosa kept his cool. But the episode underlined Donald Trump’s warped views of South Africa—and how hard it will be to change them. The Trump administration has cut aid to Africa’s largest economy and seems set to cancel the preferential trade terms enjoyed by South Africa (and many other countries in the continent).

South Africans watched aghast on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump berated their leader in the Oval Office over false claims that there’s a genocide against White people in the country.