Trump to cut off funding for South Africa
WHITE NATIONALIST SUPPORTING AFRIKANERS
(WHITE SETTLERS)
Idrees Ali and Daphne Psaledakis
Sun, February 2, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump departs the White House Washington
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -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.
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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.
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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.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Sandra Maler and Christopher Cushing)
Trump Vows to Cut Off Aid to South Africa Over Land Policy
Derek Wallbank
Sun, February 2, 2025
(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump said the US would stop sending aid to South Africa over its land expropriation policies, sparking a selloff in the rand.
“The United States won’t stand for it, we will act,” Trump said in a Sunday evening post on Truth Social. “Also, I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!”
Trump’s comments come less than two weeks after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a new law making it easier for the state to expropriate land, subject to equitable compensation paid. The African National Congress, the largest political party in South Africa, has pushed to make it easier for the state to take land in an effort to address racially skewed land-ownership patterns dating back to colonial and White-minority rule.
The South African rand slid 2% against the dollar in Asian trading. Emerging-market currencies were also weighed by Trump following through with imposing tariffs on countries including China and Mexico.
The US sent more than $8 billion in bilateral aid to South Africa over the last two decades, according to a 2023 report from the Congressional Research Service, the nonpartisan office that supplies legislative policy information and analysis to Congress. Much of those funds went to fighting HIV/AIDS and other development projects, CRS said.
Trump has threatened South Africa with economic punishments before. The country is the ‘S’ in the BRICS bloc of nations, which Trump in December threatened with a 100% tariff if the group moved away from using the US dollar.
South Africa holds the chairmanship of the Group of 20 this year and Trump, as US president, would be expected to attend. His top billionaire backer, Elon Musk, was born in the country.
--With assistance from Matthew Burgess.
(Updates currency moves in fourth paragraph and details on US aid to South Africa in fifth paragraph.)
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
Idrees Ali and Daphne Psaledakis
Sun, February 2, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump departs the White House Washington
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Sandra Maler and Christopher Cushing)
Trump Vows to Cut Off Aid to South Africa Over Land Policy
Derek Wallbank
Sun, February 2, 2025
(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump said the US would stop sending aid to South Africa over its land expropriation policies, sparking a selloff in the rand.
“The United States won’t stand for it, we will act,” Trump said in a Sunday evening post on Truth Social. “Also, I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!”
Trump’s comments come less than two weeks after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a new law making it easier for the state to expropriate land, subject to equitable compensation paid. The African National Congress, the largest political party in South Africa, has pushed to make it easier for the state to take land in an effort to address racially skewed land-ownership patterns dating back to colonial and White-minority rule.
The South African rand slid 2% against the dollar in Asian trading. Emerging-market currencies were also weighed by Trump following through with imposing tariffs on countries including China and Mexico.
The US sent more than $8 billion in bilateral aid to South Africa over the last two decades, according to a 2023 report from the Congressional Research Service, the nonpartisan office that supplies legislative policy information and analysis to Congress. Much of those funds went to fighting HIV/AIDS and other development projects, CRS said.
Trump has threatened South Africa with economic punishments before. The country is the ‘S’ in the BRICS bloc of nations, which Trump in December threatened with a 100% tariff if the group moved away from using the US dollar.
South Africa holds the chairmanship of the Group of 20 this year and Trump, as US president, would be expected to attend. His top billionaire backer, Elon Musk, was born in the country.
--With assistance from Matthew Burgess.
(Updates currency moves in fourth paragraph and details on US aid to South Africa in fifth paragraph.)
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
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