Trump Plans To Cut US Funding To South Africa

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced plans to cut all funding to South Africa and has initiated an investigation into the country’s policies, alleging a “massive” human rights violation against white people due to a new land expropriation law.

On his Truth Social platform, Trump declared on Sunday, “South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY.” He further asserted that a “massive Human Rights VIOLATION, at a minimum, is happening for all to see,” although he did not provide specific details or evidence.

“The United States won’t stand for it; we will act,” Trump stated. “I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!”

In response, the South African government emphasized on Monday that the Trump administration needs to better understand the new law, which aims to address the legacy of decades of white minority rule under apartheid, which ended in 1994. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa clarified that “the South African government has not confiscated any land.”

Since the bill was enacted, no significant actions have been taken.

During the apartheid era, land was seized from South Africa’s Black majority, who were forced to reside in areas designated exclusively for Blacks. The government has debated this law for years as a way to address historical injustices.

Elon Musk, a close ally of Trump and a South African native, has also criticized Ramaphosa’s administration, previously accusing it of being anti-white and claiming in 2023 that it was permitting a “genocide” against white farmers.

Experts in South Africa indicate that while there have been instances of violence against white farmers, this is more indicative of the country’s alarmingly high levels of violent crime, which rank among the worst globally.

In remarks to reporters on Sunday, Trump stated, “They’re taking away land, they’re confiscating land, and actually they’re doing things that are perhaps far worse than that.”

Trump did not specify which policy he was referencing or which groups were being mistreated. However, his comments seemed to respond to the new land law passed by South Africa last month, which allows the government to acquire land from private owners if deemed to be in the public interest.