White South Africans support Trump and claim to be victims of racism

White South Africans support Trump and claim to be victims of racism

Pretoria, South Africa – On Saturday, some white South Africans showed their support for President Donald Trump and gathered at the US Embassy in Pretoria to claim they were victims of racism at the hands of their own government.

Protests in Pretoria

Hundreds of demonstrators held signs reading “Thank God for President Trump” and other messages criticizing what they saw as the South African government’s racist laws. Many protesters come from the African community, which Trump targeted in a recent executive order that reduced aid payments to the black-led South African government.

Criticism of the state legislation

In that decree, Trump explained that Africans, descendants of primarily Dutch colonial settlers, are affected by a new law that allows the government to expropriate private land. However, the South African government has denied that its new law is linked to race. She claims Trump's statements about the country and the law are full of misinformation and distortions.

The South African President's response

Trump claimed that land was being expropriated from Africans, when in fact no land was being expropriated under the law. Trump also announced a plan to offer refugee status to Africans in the United States. However, these only represent a part of the white minority in South Africa.

In a speech to Parliament this week, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the forcible removal of people from their land will never be allowed again in South Africa. This happened in the past when millions of black people were killed under the Apartheid system of the white minority and were dispossessed over hundreds of years of colonialism.

Inequality and land reform

“The people of this country know the pain of forced relocation,” Ramaphosa said. He explained that the land law does not allow arbitrary expropriations and only targets land that can be redistributed for public good.

The Trump administration's criticism and punishment of South Africa has highlighted a long-standing dilemma in the country over how to right the injustices of centuries of oppression of the black majority.

The fight for equality

According to the government, the land law is intended to respond fairly to inequality, as most of South Africa's farmland is owned by whites, but they only make up 7% of the population. White demonstrators on Saturday held banners that referenced the expropriation law but also other positive measures the government has introduced to empower blacks since the end of apartheid in 1994. These laws, known as Black Economic Empowerment, are a source of frustration for some white people.

Influential voices

The influential Trump advisor Elon Musk - grew up in South Africa - has also criticized the South African government, accusing it of anti-white attitudes for years, although some question his motivations. It recently failed to obtain a license for its Starlink satellite internet service in South Africa because it did not meet the country's affirmative action criteria.

Racial Diversity and Political Landscape

Although race has long shaped South Africa's politics, the country has largely made progress in unifying its ethnically diverse population in the years after apartheid. The current government is made up of a coalition of 10 black and white-led political parties working together.