WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday, without citing evidence, that “certain classes of people” in South Africa were being treated “very badly” and that he would cut off funding for the country until the matter is investigated.
“South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY,“ Trump said in a Truth Social post.
“The United States won’t stand for it, we will act. Also, I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!” he said.
It is unclear what led to Trump’s post.
The South African embassy in Washington D.C. did not respond to a request for comment outside of regular business hours.
The United States obligated nearly $440 million in assistance to South Africa in 2023, the most recent U.S. government data showed.
South Africa currently holds the G20 presidency, after which the U.S. takes over.
Last month, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he was not worried about the country’s relationship with Trump. He said he had spoken to Trump after the latter’s election victory and looked forward to working with his administration.
During his first administration, Trump said the U.S. would investigate unproven large-scale killings of white farmers in South Africa and violent takeovers of land. Pretoria at the time said Trump was misinformed. It is unclear whether the Trump administration carried out an investigation.
Trump’s close ally Elon Musk was born in South Africa. In 2023, Musk replied on X to a video of a far-left South African political party singing an old anti-apartheid song, “Kill the Boer”, by stating: “They are openly pushing for genocide of white people in South Africa.”
“@CyrilRamaphosa, why do you say nothing?” Musk asked.
