Trump confronts South African leader with baseless claims of the systematic killing of white farmers

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump used a White House meeting to forcefully confront South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, accusing the country of failing to address Trump's baseless claim of the systematic killing of white farmers.

Trump even dimmed the lights of the Oval Office to play a video of a far-left politician chanting a song that includes the lyrics “kill the farmer.” He also leafed through news articles to underscore his point, saying the country's white farmers have faced “death, death, death, horrible death.”

Trump had already cut all U.S. assistance to South Africa and welcomed several dozen white South African farmers to the U.S. as refugees as he pressed the case that a “genocide” is underway in the country.

The U.S. president, since his return to office, has launched a series of accusations at South Africa’s Black-led government, claiming it is seizing land from white farmers, enforcing antiwhite policies and pursuing an anti-American foreign policy.

Experts in South Africa say there is no evidence of whites being targeted for their race, although farmers of all races are victims of violent home invasions in a country with a high crime rate.

“People are fleeing South Africa for their own safety,” Trump said. “Their land is being confiscated and in many cases they’re being killed.”

Ramaphosa pushed back against Trump’s accusation. The South African leader had sought to use the meeting to set the record straight and salvage his country’s relationship with the United States. The bilateral relationship is at its lowest point since South Africa enforced its apartheid system of racial segregation, which ended in 1994.

“We are completely opposed to that,” Ramaphosa said of the behavior alleged by Trump in their exchange. He added, “that is not government policy” and “our government policy is completely, completely against what he was saying.”

Trump was unmoved.

“When they take the land, they kill the white farmer,” he said.

Trump appeared prepared to confront Ramaphosa at the start of the meeting while journalists were present. Videos were cued up on a large TV set to show a clip of an opposition party leader, Julius Malema, leading an old anti-apartheid song.

The song has been contentious for years in the country because of its central lyrics “kill the Boer” and “shoot the Boer” — with Boer a word that refers to a white farmer. Malema, featured in the video, is not part of the country’s governing coalition.

Another clip played showed white crosses on the side of a road, described as a memorial for white farmers who were killed. Ramaphosa seemed baffled. “I’d like to know where that is, because this I’ve never seen.”

Trump kicked off the meeting by describing the South African president as a “truly respected man in many, many circles.” He added: “And in some circles he’s considered a little controversial.”

Ramaphosa chimed in, playfully jabbing back at a U.S. president who is no stranger to controversy. “We’re all like that,” Ramaphosa said.

Trump issued an executive order in February cutting all funding to South Africa over some of its domestic and foreign policies. The order criticized the South African government on multiple fronts, saying it is pursuing antiwhite policies at home and supporting “bad actors” in the world like the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Iran.

Trump has falsely accused the South African government of rights violations against white Afrikaner farmers by seizing their land through a new expropriation law. No land has been seized and the South African government has pushed back, saying U.S. criticism is driven by misinformation.

The Trump administration’s references to the Afrikaner people — who are descendants of Dutch and other European settlers — have also elevated previous claims made by Trump's South African-born adviser Elon Musk and some conservative U.S. commentators that the South African government is allowing attacks on white farmers in what amounts to a genocide.

The administration's concerns about South African policies cut even deeper than the concerns about white farmers.

South Africa has also angered Trump over its move to bring charges at the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Ramaphosa has also faced scrutiny in Washington for his past connections to MTN Group, Iran’s second-largest telecom provider. It owns nearly half of Irancell, a joint venture linked with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Ramaphosa served as board chair of MTN from 2002 to 2013.

Ramaphosa came into the meeting looking to avoid the sort of contentious engagement that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy experienced during his February Oval Office visit, when the Ukrainian leader found himself being berated by Trump and Vice President JD Vance. That disastrous meeting ended with White House officials asking Zelenskyy and his delegation to leave the White House grounds.

The South African president's delegation included golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, a gesture to the golf-obsessed U.S. president. Ramaphosa brought Trump a massive book about South Africa's golf courses. He even told Trump that he's been working on his golf game, seeming to angle for an invitation to the links with the president.

Luxury goods tycoon and Afrikaner Johann Rupert was also in the delegation to help ease Trump's concerns that land was being seized from white farmers.

At one point, Ramaphosa called on Zingiswa Losi, the president of a group of South African trade unions, who told Trump it is true that South Africa is a “violent nation for a number of reasons.” But she told him it was important to understand that Black men and women in rural areas were also being targeted in heinous crimes.

“The problem in South Africa, it is not necessarily about race, but it’s about crime,” Losi said. “We are here to say how do we, both nations, work together to reset, to really talk about investment but also help … to really address the levels of crime we have in our country.”

Musk also attended Wednesday's talks. He has been at the forefront of the criticism of his homeland, casting its affirmative action laws as racist against whites.

Musk has said on social media that his Starlink satellite internet service isn’t able to get a license to operate in South Africa because he is not Black.

South African authorities say Starlink hasn’t formally applied. It can, but it would be bound by affirmative action laws in the communications sector that require foreign companies to allow 30% of their South African subsidiaries to be owned by shareholders who are Black or from other racial groups disadvantaged under apartheid.

The South African government says its long-standing affirmative action laws are a cornerstone of its efforts to right the injustices of the white minority rule of apartheid, which denied opportunities to Blacks and other racial groups.

Following the contentious exchange in front of the cameras, Trump hosted Ramaphosa for lunch and further talks.

Ramaphosa, speaking to reporters following his White House visit, downplayed Trump's criticism, adding he believes “there’s doubt and disbelief in (Trump's) head” about his genocide charge. He insisted they did not dwell on Trump's concerns about white farmers in their private conversation.

“You wanted to see drama and something really big happening,” Ramaphosa told reporters following his White House visit. “And I’m sorry that we disappointed you somewhat when it comes to that.”

Imray reported from Johannesburg. AP writers Seung Min Kim, Chris Megerian, Darlene Superville, Sagar Meghani and Ali Swenson contributed reporting.

President Donald Trump meets South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump meets South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump speaks as he meets with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump greets South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

President Donald Trump greets South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

President Donald Trump greets South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

President Donald Trump greets South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

President Donald Trump greets South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

DEDHAM, Mass. (AP) — Jurors in the murder trial of Karen Read began deliberations without a verdict Friday after weeks of testimony in a highly divisive case in which the prosecution’s theory of jaded love turned deadly was countered by a defense claim that a cast of tight-knit Boston area law enforcement killed a fellow police officer.

Read, 45, is accused of fatally striking her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, 46, with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow outside a house party where other local police and a federal agent were closing out a night of drinking in 2022. She’s charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene in Canton, outside Boston.

Jurors went home for the weekend and will resume on Monday.

Read’s defense said O'Keefe was beaten, bitten by a dog, then left outside a home in Canton in a conspiracy orchestrated by the police that included planting evidence against Read.

The first Read trial ended July 1 in a mistrial due to a hung jury.

The state's case was led by special prosecutor Hank Brennan, who called fewer witnesses than prosecutor Adam Lally, who ran the first trial against Read.

Describing O’Keefe as a “good man” who “helped people,” Brennan on Friday said O’Keefe needed help that night and the only person who could lend a hand – call 911 or knock on a door – was Read. Instead, she drove away in her SUV.

“She was drunk. She hit him and she left him to die,” he said, repeating the phrase twice.

Brennan once again referenced Read’s statement about the possibility that she backed into O’Keefe, which the defense has pointed out came not from police reports but from a voluntary interview she did for a documentary series. In the television interview, Read said, “I didn’t think I hit him,” but acknowledged she could have “clipped him.”

In the first trial, the state called Michael Proctor, the lead investigator in the case. Proctor would later be fired after a disciplinary board found he sent sexist and crude text messages about Read.

Prosecutors this time focused on evidence from the scene, and tried to make the point that broken pieces of Read’s taillight show she struck O’Keefe with her vehicle. The defense has argued that the taillight was actually damaged when Read was backing out of O’Keefe’s house and hit his car. They have suggested Proctor and others could have colluded to plant the pieces of broken plastic near O'Keefe's body after they took the vehicle back to the police department.

Andre Porto, a forensic scientist who works in the DNA unit of the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab, detailed various items he tested, including the broken rear taillight and pieces of a broken cocktail glass found in the yard. Only O’Keefe was a likely match for both. A hair found on Read’s vehicle was also a match for O’Keefe.

Brennan said the data on Read’s Lexus proved she reversed her car to where O’Keefe was standing and that health data on his phone showed he had gotten out of her car right before the alleged collision.

Read, he said, “decided” to put the car into reverse and “decided” to accelerate toward him after the two had an argument on the way to the house where the party took place.

“I suggest to you that is second-degree murder,” he said.

The prosecution also pointed out that Read and O'Keefe were fighting. Voicemails recovered from Read's phone in which she said, “I (expletive) hate you,” to O'Keefe were played in court. That voicemail would have arrived while he was lying in the snow.

Read’s defense team has cast doubt on the state’s case by suggesting Read was framed. Defense attorney Alan Jackson began his closing argument by repeating three times: “There was no collision.”

Jackson told the jury that Read is an innocent woman victimized by a police cover up in which law enforcement officers sought to protect their own and obscure the real killer. He referenced federal agent Brian Higgins, who exchanged flirtatious text messages with Read, leading the defense to question if that led to a fatal confrontation. Higgins was present at the party on the night of O'Keefe's death.

“What happened inside that house, that basement or that garage? What evidence was there for investigators to look into? What did they ignore?” defense attorney Alan Jackson asked Friday, noting the “obvious dog bites" on O’Keefe’s arm and the head injury from his falling backward onto a hard surface.

Defense attorneys also presented a different view of how Read's taillight was cracked. They have attempted to show, via witnesses, surveillance video and photographs, that Read may have damaged her taillight the morning after O'Keefe's death when she backed out of his driveway and bumped his car with her own.

Nicholas Barros, a police officer at a department where Read's car was impounded, testified that he saw only a small crack in Read's taillight when the car first arrived. The defense has pointed out that the taillight later looked much more damaged, arguing it could have been tampered with.

A crash expert who testified for the defense said, based on every test he performed, the damage to Read’s taillight and O’Keefe’s clothing was inconsistent with her SUV striking an arm or body at the speed described by the prosecution.

The defense has also questioned why investigators never entered the home where the party took place, although witnesses from the scene and prosecutors have said O'Keefe never went inside.

The defense also questioned Jennifer McCabe, who was at the house party and is the sister-in-law of the host, retired Boston police officer Brian Albert. McCabe made a misspelled web search, “hos long to die in cold,” after O'Keefe's death.

The timing of the search has been in question. The defense argued that McCabe made the search at about 2:30 a.m. and helped cover for the real killer. The prosecution claims she searched after O'Keefe's body was found later in the morning.

The defense called into question the actions of others who were at the party the night O'Keefe died. The party happened at the home of Albert, and after O'Keefe's death, the Alberts rehomed their dog Chloe — who the defense claims bit O'Keefe — and refurbished their basement before selling their home at a loss.

Read faces a maximum penalty of a life sentence if convicted. At the end of court on Friday, a supporter handed Jackson a bouquet of pink flowers for Read, and he gave it to her when they got in a car.

She said she thought the day went “very well” and thanked supporters.

“We’ve done everything we can," she told reporters before leaving.

Whittle reported from Scarborough, Maine.

Karen Read, is surrounded by reporters as she and her legal team leave the Dedham, Mass. courthouse, after the judge issued instructions to the jury in Read's trial at Norfolk Superior Court, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

Prosecutor Hank Brennan, left, speaks to jurors during closing arguments in the murder trial of Karen Read in Norfolk Superior Court, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Mark Stockwell/The Sun Chronicle via AP, Pool)

Karen Read, right, gestures to supporters as she and attorney Alan Jackson, left, leave the Dedham, Mass. courthouse, after the judge issued instructions to the jury in Read's trial at Norfolk Superior Court, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

Defense attorney Alan Jackson speaks to jurors during closing arguments in the murder trial of Karen Read, at right, in Norfolk Superior Court, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Mark Stockwell/The Sun Chronicle via AP, Pool) /// [EXTERNAL]

A costumed Karen Read supporter who declined to be identified, center, gathered with fellow supporters waiting for Read to arrive at the Dedham, Mass. courthouse, for closing arguments of her trial at Norfolk Superior Court, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

Judge Beverly Cannone speaks to jurors before closing arguments in the murder trial of Karen Read in Norfolk Superior Court, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Mark Stockwell/The Sun Chronicle via AP, Pool) /// [EXTERNAL]

Defendant Karen Read, second from left, defense attorneys and prosecutors meet at side bar with Judge Beverly Cannone, right, before closing arguments during the murder trial of Karen Read in Norfolk Superior Court, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Mark Stockwell/The Sun Chronicle via AP, Pool) /// [EXTERNAL]

Defendant Karen Read smiles at her family before closing arguments during her murder trial in Norfolk Superior Court, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Mark Stockwell/The Sun Chronicle via AP, Pool) /// [EXTERNAL]

Supporters of Karen Read gather prior to the day's session outside Norfolk Superior Court, Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Prosecutor Hank Brennan questions accident reconstruction specialist Dr. Daniel Wolfe during the murder trial of Karen Read in Norfolk Superior Court, Friday, June 6, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Mark Stockwell/The Lowell Sun via AP, Pool)

Defense attorneys Robert Alessi, left, and David Yannetti, confer before the Karen Read's murder trial in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., Friday, June 6, 2025. (Mark Stockwell/The Sun Chronicle via AP, Pool)

Judge Beverly Cannone speaks to jurors at the start of Karen Read's murder trial in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., Friday, June 6, 2025. (Mark Stockwell/The Sun Chronicle via AP, Pool)

Defendant Karen Read listens as accident reconstruction specialist Dr. Daniel Wolfe testifies during her murder trial in Norfolk Superior Court, Friday, June 6, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Mark Stockwell/The Sun Chronicle via AP, Pool)

Defense attorney Alan Jackson questions accident reconstruction specialist Dr. Daniel Wolfe while holding a 2021 Lexus SUV taillight assembly during Karen Read's murder trial in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., Friday, June 6, 2025.(Mark Stockwell/The Sun Chronicle via AP, Pool)

Karen Read and her defense attorneys listen as accident reconstruction specialist Dr. Daniel Wolfe testifies during Read's murder trial in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., Friday, June 6, 2025. (Mark Stockwell/The Sun Chronicle via AP, Pool)