It didn’t take long for Donald Trump to train his sights on South Africa. It was bound to happen. He’s always had an unhealthy obsession with this country. If it wasn’t his insanely false allegation about white farmers losing their land, it would have been something even more ridiculous.
Arguing among ourselves on how to pacify or appease Trump is a waste of time. He’s not interested in any negotiation. He wants surrender or he’ll rub your face in the mud. A case in point is Marco Rubio, his secretary of state, who this week proudly announced he won’t attend the G20 foreign ministers meeting in Johannesburg, alleging so-called anti-Americanism as a reason for his no-show.
Running against Trump for the Republican nomination in 2016, Rubio eviscerated him as “a con artist who has spent his entire career sticking it to the little guy”. After his loss to Trump, Rubio proceeded to prostrate himself. Trump has now rewarded his obsequiousness with a plum position in his administration. Rubio’s tweet this week was therefore aimed at an audience of one.
South Africa has always been in Trump’s crosshairs. The last time he was in the White House he tweeted about the killing of white farmers in this country. Even his social media post about Brics a few months ago was aimed mainly at this country. He’s opposed to the very idea of South Africa.
People tend to roll their eyes and utter 'race card' each time someone is accused of racism. But with Trump, the cap does fit. The evidence is irrefutable. In fact, his entire political edifice is built on racism. He thrives on it
The notion that people of all races could work together to build a harmonious society offends his racist sensibilities. Such an experiment should not be allowed to succeed. And the fact that South Africa is among countries receiving US aid seems to stick in his craw.
In fact, as a target of his hatred, South Africa ticks many boxes. The country is almost the poster child of DEI (diversity, equality, inclusion) which the American right has successfully demonised as an attack on white privilege. In fact, one of the unstated intentions of the new agency headed by Elon Musk to downsize the government is to weed out what they see as DEI appointees. Some of the allegations against the programme border on the absurd. For instance, Trump has, without evidence, blamed the recent mid-air collision between a US army helicopter and a jetliner on DEI.
South Africa has also found itself on a collision course with Washington. The country butted heads recently with the Biden administration over Ukraine, and South Africa’s perceived support for Vladimir Putin’s invasion of that country. But Trump’s view on the matter could be interesting, given his and the ANC’s mutual admiration of Putin.
On the face of it, they seem to be on the same side. But it is South Africa’s decision to take Israel to the International Court of Justice for its genocidal campaign in Gaza that has incensed the American establishment. It is interesting that Trump sent out his tweet on South Africa after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the first foreign leader to visit the White House since Trump took office.
People tend to roll their eyes and utter “race card” each time someone is accused of racism. But with Trump, the cap does fit. The evidence is irrefutable. In fact, his entire political edifice is built on racism. He thrives on it.
Trump led a movement — so-called birtherism — that falsely asserted that Barack Obama was an illegitimate president because he was not a natural-born citizen of the US. Trump continued with this canard even after Obama produced his birth certificate. This ridiculous accusation launched Trump’s presidential campaign. And when he announced his actual campaign, he was railing against Mexican rapists and murderers who should be kept out of the US. Immigrants from Muslim countries, he later said, should be barred from entering the US until it was determined it was safe for the country.
He’s also hobnobbed with known antisemites. Which makes one wonder why anyone steeped in such a racially sensitive cauldron as South Africa would allow him to prattle dangerous falsehoods about the country. Birds of a feather obviously flock together. And such people are the first to express pained wonderment why the masses were voting for corrupt politicians such as Jacob Zuma, who is happily embracing Trump — corrupt, a liar, rapist and a convicted felon — as a moral icon.
There were also comrades who heartily cheered Trumps’ victory against Kamala Harris in November because they believed his hostility towards Nato would be helpful to their friend Putin. Well, they’ll got their wish now. How to deal with Trump will be a huge challenge for the next four years. We’ll have to muddle through it.
The US remains pivotal to the health of our economy. It was the anti-apartheid lobby in the US that ultimately forced the US congress to imposed veto-proof sanctions against South Africa, which proved to be apartheid’s death-knell. Those relationships were allowed to fizzle by an ANC government drunk with power. They need to be resuscitated.
But the solution lies here at home. The establishment of the GNU is a good beginning. But President Cyril Ramaphosa’s dealings with his partners has been patently duplicitous and dishonest. This whole kerfuffle with Trump would not have arisen had he been more attentive to the views of people in his own government. Instead, he’s been playing politics to appease the left flank in his party.
Ramphosa needs to unite the country and all its people. The country should take precedence over the machinations in his party. Unity is our strength, and our only shield.
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