Description: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the White House where he met with US President Donald Trump in an attempt to consolidate bilateral ties amid the latest dispute between the leaders. Trump has repeatedly accused Ramaphosa of being complicit to a genocide which concerned the white South African pharmers and allegation the South African President categorically denied. Trump pressured the meeting into becoming an unofficial trial for Ramaphosa showcasing videos and printed media articles where there was alleged evidence of Ramaphosa’s government wrongdoings. The dispute originating from the US allegations has prompted the Trump administration to cut aid packages to South Africa and allow white South Africans refugees into the US. Ramaphosa visited Washington in order to attempt to secure a trade deal with the US which is the second largest trade partner to South Africa after China.
Impact: Ramaphosa’s meeting with Trump emphasized the US unilateral, isolationist and conservative indescriminatory approach towards a key ally country on the African continent. Trump effectively bullied the South African President with allegations which were completely baseless in order to draw out concessions from Ramaphosa which practically concerned US investments in the African country. Speculations about the grave treatment the South African President received mostly arose since South Africa blocked Elon Musk’s Starlink project in the country and campaigned a pioneering attempt before the ICC by filing a criminal case against Israel over their war in Gaza. The artificially imploded tensions between the US and South Africa would remain unchanged and stagnant since the South African President demonstrated resilience and composure facing Trump’s baseless allegations. China might benefit from the bilateral tensions as South Africa’s second largest trade partner exploiting the dissolution of bilateral relations between the two countries by offering favorable trade terms to South Africa.