[FRIAM] Trump and Afrikaner Refugees

Thu May 22 04:20:32 EDT 2025

For a deeper dive into the farm murders narrative, see:
https://theconversation.com/trumps-afrikaners-are-south-african-opportunists-not-refugees-whats-behind-the-us-move-257017

On Thu, 22 May 2025 at 10:04, Pieter Steenekamp <pieters at randcontrols.co.za>
wrote:

> It was a tough day for Ramaphosa yesterday.
> Donald Trump appears to have been influenced by far-right narratives about
> widespread, politically motivated farm murders in South Africa,
> particularly targeting Afrikaners. He seemed to accept that narrative,
> which made things tricky.
>
> Despite this, I’m proud of how the Ramaphosa team handled the situation.
> I paid close attention to Trump's body language once the discussion moved
> past the farm murder topic, and I believe he was receptive to the points
> our team raised. They also held private talks after the public exchanges,
> which will likely lead to more focused trade negotiations. Overall, I’m
> feeling positive about the outcome. Sure, it could have gone better, but it
> certainly wasn’t a disaster—nothing like the Trump/Zelensky fiasco.
>
> Just a bit of context for my American friends:
> The ANC (African National Congress) has governed South Africa since the
> advent of democracy. However, in last year’s election, they lost their
> majority for the first time, dropping below 50%. This led to the formation
> of a Government of National Unity (GNU), though in practice it’s a
> coalition between the ANC and the white-led Democratic Alliance (DA), led
> by John Steenhuisen—who also participated in last night’s presentation.
>
> While many Afrikaners (maybe most?) do support the DA, there's also strong
> support among them for the right-wing Freedom Front Plus (FF+), which could
> be described as South Africa’s version of MAGA. "Maga"-Afrikaners are maybe
> the minority of Afrikaners and Afrikaners are a small minority of all in
> South Africa, so there is no reasonable possibility of them gaining
> significant votes. They also support the rule of law and the I don't expect
> trouble from them. Those that influence Trump are even further right-wing
> than the FF+.
>
> In contrast, the DA draws support from a broad cross-section of South
> African society, across all racial groups—including a significant number of
> urban Black voters.
>
> Looking ahead:
> Recent polls show the DA with a slight lead. While it’s almost certain
> they’ll not win an outright majority, they could emerge as the largest
> party in the next election. If that happens, they may form a government,
> and John Steenhuisen could become president. Maybe I'm day-reaming?
>
> On Tue, 20 May 2025 at 21:08, steve smith <sasmyth at swcp.com> wrote:
>
>> Pieter Steenekamp wrote:
>>
>> South Africa eagerly awaits President Cyril Ramaphosa’s upcoming meeting
>> with U.S. President Donald Trump, a significant diplomatic breakthrough. An
>> insightful article from Daily Maverick highlights how Ramaphosa achieved
>> this feat through influential connections and a strategic approach that
>> resonated with Trump.
>> The article explains that Ramaphosa’s success is a major diplomatic
>> victory, overcoming months of intense and damaging criticism from Trump.
>> Traditional diplomatic efforts had failed, with Washington largely ignoring
>> South Africa’s outreach. Despite persistent attempts by South African
>> government, diplomatic, and business delegations, access to Trump remained
>> blocked.
>> On Capitol Hill, sources noted that South Africa underestimated the depth
>> of hostility. Even allies sympathetic to South Africa’s anti-apartheid
>> history were cautious about aligning with a nation facing unprecedented
>> scrutiny from Trump. The article points out that South Africa endured more
>> targeted executive orders and coordinated attacks than even U.S.
>> adversaries like Iran, Cuba, and China. Tensions had been brewing before
>> Trump’s election, with discussions of potential sanctions already underway.
>> Source:
>> https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-05-19-ramaphosas-trump-meeting-is-a-diplomatic-coup/
>>
>>
>> I had no idea how much of the "refugee" story had a backstory of Trump's
>> (typical) *bully first, negotiate later* style.
>>
>> Thanks for the DM link...
>>
>> I do always enjoy local media perspectives on faraway places... something
>> you used to only encounter when you visited or maybe someone visited you
>> and brought a newspaper (or more rarely a recording of local radio).
>>
>>
>> https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-05-19-the-other-side-of-the-afrikaner-refugee-coin-americans-who-live-work-love-in-south-africa/
>>
>> There were numerous references in this one article alone which exposed me
>> to my own mis-assumptions.  I was aware of the BRICS alignment but did not
>> realize that Zuid-Afrika has taken a strong political position against
>> Israel's actions (genocide) against Palestine, for example.
>>
>> I haven't done the research but I'd guess there is one or more
>> "opposition" news outlets there which offer contrasting opinions.
>>
>>
>>
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>
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