‘Thank God for Trump’: White South Africans Rally in Support of US President’s Racism Claims- wna24

Pretoria: White South African rallied in support for US President Donald Trump and gathered at the US Embassy in Pretoria on Saturday to claim that they are racially discriminated by their own government.

Hundreds of protesters carried placards which read “Thank God for President Trump,” criticizing South Africa’s laws they believe discriminate against the white minority.

Protesters were from the Afrikaner community, which Trump highlighted in an executive order last week cutting aid to the Black-led South African government. The order said that Afrikaners, descendants of Dutch colonial settlers, were being targeted by a new law allowing land expropriation without compensation.

The South African government has rejected claims that its new land expropriation law is racially motivated, calling Trump’s statements about the law and the country full of misinformation and distortions.

Trump had said that land was being taken from Afrikaners—referred to as “racially disfavored landowners” in the order—despite no land having been seized under the law. He also proposed offering Afrikaners refugee status in the U.S., noting they represent only part of South Africa’s white minority.

In a speech to Parliament this week, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa mentioned that the forced removal of people from their land will never happen again in South Africa. He emphasized this stance in light of the millions of Black people who were dispossessed of property during apartheid and centuries of colonial rule.

Ramaphosa said, “The people of this country know the pain of forced removals,” He added that the land law does not permit arbitrary land seizures and applies only to land that can be redistributed for the benefit of the public.

The Trump administration’s criticism and actions against South Africa have highlighted the nation’s ongoing struggle to address the injustices of centuries of white minority rule that oppressed the Black majority.

The government states that the land law seeks to address the inequality where the majority of farmland in South Africa is owned by whites, who make up just 7% of the population. The aim is to create a fairer distribution of land across the country.

On Saturday, white protesters held banners not only referencing the expropriation law but also criticizing other affirmative action policies, such as Black Economic Empowerment, implemented since the end of apartheid in 1994. These policies, designed to improve opportunities for Black South Africans, have caused frustration among some white citizens.

Elon Musk, who was raised in South Africa, has long criticized the government, accusing it of being anti-white. However, some have questioned his motivations. Recently, Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service was denied a license in South Africa, as it did not meet the country’s affirmative action criteria.

Although race has traditionally shaped South African politics, the country has made significant strides in reconciling its racially diverse population since the end of apartheid. The current government consists of a coalition of 10 Black-led and white-led political parties working together.