Moments before President Donald Trump escorted his South African counterpart into the Oval Office on Wednesday, White House aides could be seen wheeling two large-screen televisions down the driveway and into the West Wing.

South Africa’s finance chief said the government made progress on resetting its relationship with the US and securing a trade deal in talks that took place after President Cyril Ramaphosa’s showdown with Donald Trump at the White House.

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.