Nigel Branken
Reflecting on today’s Trump–Ramaphosa meeting at the White House, I actually think it could’ve gone a lot worse. Trump came with his out-of-context video ambush, pushing that tired old story about white genocide and even pictures of white farmers.
We saw the same out of context quotes and Afriforum/ Solidarity talking points. He clearly came prepared to provoke, using lies and half-truths that are hard to counter in the oval office – with so much on the line. Trump was disrespectful and rude and came to try get a response so he could be stronger for the second half meeting. Even changing the order of doing the press briefing first was clearly set to change negotiating dynamics later. But I think the South African delegation handled themselves really well.
Ramaphosa did a good job. He didn’t take the bait. He was honest about the real issues—violent crime, farm murders, all of it—but without feeding into Trump’s narrative. That honesty actually made us look credible. And the way Ramaphosa kept the mood light, almost joking at times, really helped. It could’ve turned into a shouting match, but he played the role of the diplomat brilliantly.
The SA press were also good to get questions framed right.
SA Delegatin of Billionaire Golf Buddies Dissapoints
I’ve got to say, John Steenhuisen really annoyed me. He had a chance to bring in some proper facts and challenge Trump’s nonsense, but instead he just went along with it. That was disappointing.
Of course, it was a meeting of billionaires, so we know the real stuff is happening behind closed doors. Rupert pitching Starlink for police stations—while suggesting we ignore BEE laws—was ridiculous. It’s so obvious he’s trying to make deals that benefit a few rich people, not the rest of us. And that’s what worries me most.
There’s also a bigger issue here—our case against Israel at the ICJ. I think that’s what’s really in the background. What gets said in the back rooms could affect that, and it’s dangerous.
One clever move though: they brought Ernie Els and Retief Goosen instead of Gary Player. That was smart. Gary Playerhas become really right wing and would’ve just made things worse. The golf book gift and whole golfing vibe was well-played.
So overall, the public meeting was handled well. But the real deals are happening where we can’t see them. And that’s where we have a lot to lose.
Update: The Next Morning… I’ve been reflecting
The more I sit with that meeting, the clearer it becomes that what we witnessed wasn’t diplomacy—it was the performance of whiteness protecting itself. A carefully staged pageant where power didn’t speak truth—it silenced it.
Everyone seems to be claiming victory. Trump’s camp, the DA, the billionaires, even our own government. But I don’t see poor people, migrants, or those on the margins claiming anything. And that alone tells us who this meeting was really for.
Whiteness is Still the Currency of Credibility
Diplomacy, especially in its Western form, is designed to preserve global racial hierarchies. It doesn’t serve justice. It keeps things in place. And nothing in that room disrupted anything. The lies were repeated with ease: that Dubul’ ibhunu is a call to murder, that migrants are responsible for crime, that white people are under siege. The statistics say otherwise, but white fear continues to dominate global narratives.
Ramaphosa, a Black president who has taken a principled stand against genocide, had to sit in that room and explain himself to the very empire fuelling that genocide. And to gain access, he had to bring white billionaires and golfers to vouch for him—because in that space, whiteness is still the currency of credibility.
Stage Set for US Dominance & Control
The body language said everything. Trump and Ramaphosa sat in two chairs upfront. Trump’s team slouched confidently on one couch; the South African delegation sat stiffly on the other, leaning forward, trying to engage. Even the screen used to show the propaganda video was positioned behind the South Africans—forcing them to turn around to watch. Every detail was about dominance, discomfort, and control.
WATCH: Takeaways from Trump’s meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa
And then Dubul’ ibhunu—a liberation song that has always spoken against white supremacy—was disowned in that room. Not defended. Not explained. Just quietly abandoned to make empire feel safe. But that song speaks to the very system still on display. It should have been reclaimed, not erased.
Appeasing a Man Who Should’ve Been Confronted Not Comforted
Even golf became part of the theatre. A sport rooted in land dispossession, privilege, and exclusion used as a soft power gesture. Golf courses sit on stolen land. They represent everything about elite control. And we offered that up as a peace offering to a man who should’ve been confronted, not comforted.
Steenhuisen played his role too—throwing out border panic dog whistles, blaming migrants, stoking white fear. Classic DA politics, repackaged for an international stage.
Disruption Not Diplomacy
This wasn’t a win. It was whiteness, fully staged and unapologetic. And maybe I didn’t feel uneasy at first because nothing in me was made to feel uneasy. And that’s the problem.
We don’t need more diplomacy. We need disruption. Real, uncomfortable, unapologetic disruption. Because empire will never be dismantled through politeness. It must be named. And it must be confronted.
