Image source, EPA

A much-anticipated meeting between South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa and US President Donald Trump is over.

The encounter was at times - as expected - fiery. Trump confronted the South African leader with a video over discredited claims of a white genocide in South Africa.

The meeting was also littered with golf chat. Ramaphosa told Trump he brought a 14kg golf book as a gift, while South African golfer Ernie Els told the meeting "two wrongs don't make a right".

Though visibly uncomfortable from the ambush, Ramaphosa remained calm, saying the chants of "shoot the Boer" shown in the video don't represent government policy.

And upon leaving the White House, he told reporters the meeting went "very well".

• For more analysis of the day's events, check out our news story here: Trump ambushes S African leader with claim of Afrikaners being 'persecuted'
• Watch: Moment Trump ambushes Ramaphosa with video
• Is there a genocide of white South Africans as Trump claims?

Khanyisile Ngcobo
Reporting from Johannesburg

Speaking to reporters back at his Washington hotel, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has downplayed the drama that played out in the White House during his meeting with his US President Donald Trump.

Ramaphosa faced a tough time in the Oval Office after he was ambushed with videos purporting to show the persecution of a white genocide – a claim that has been discredited.

The South African president shared details from the lunch that followed the confrontation, saying his team had a "robust engagement" and a "rather pleasant lunch" with the Trump administration, where issues such as golf and trade and investment were discussed.

"I was rather pleased that there was a rather firm agreement and undertaking that we're going to continue engaging," he told South African media after the briefing.

Ramaphosa insisted that the visit was a "great success", and that while the South African media "wanted to see drama", he was "sorry we disappointed you somewhat".

He also mentioned that he now expects Trump to attend the G20 summit in Johannesburg later this year.

Image source, Reuters

Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democat on the the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, hit out at Donald Trump's rhetoric during his meeting at the White House with Cyril Ramaphosa.

"The only beneficiaries of President Trump’s meeting with President Ramaphosa are China and Russia, who are eagerly courting South Africa as Trump’s ham-handed diplomacy pushes the country further away from the United States," she says in a statement.

"The president’s display in the Oval Office today brings us no closer to furthering this critical partnership and instead takes us decades back both in the rhetoric that was used and in opportunities lost."

Nomia Iqbal and Cai Pigliucci
Reporting from Buffalo, New York

Two weeks ago, 46-year-old Charl Kleinhaus was living on his family farm in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. With its scenic beauty, wildlife and deep canyons, it's known as "the place where the sun rises".

His new home - for now - is a budget hotel near an American highway.

He and dozens of other white South Africans were moved to the US under President Donald Trump's controversial policy to protect them from the discrimination he alleges they are facing - an accusation that South Africa rejects.

Kleinhaus defends the US president, telling the BBC he left his homeland after receiving death threats in WhatsApp messages.

"I had to leave a five-bedroom house, which I will lose now," Kleinhaus tells the BBC, adding that he also left behind his car, his dogs and even his mother. "I didn't come here for fun," he adds.

Kleinhaus is one of a group of 59 who arrived on Tuesday at Dulles airport, near Washington DC, after Trump's administration fast-tracked their applications.

Afrikaners are a white ethnic minority who ran South Africa during the apartheid era, implementing racist policies of segregation in the country until the regime was officially abolished in 1994.

But more than 30 years on, black farmers own only a small fraction of the country's best farmland, with the majority still in white hands.

Some fellow Afrikaners have described Mr Kleinhaus and the group as opportunists, and that being a victim of crime is not equivalent to the type of persecution that deserves refugee status.

Kleinhaus acknowledges that the murder rate of farmers is low in South Africa, but says he does not want to become a victim, saying he has received threats via WhatsApp messages.

• Read more of the BBC's conversation with Kleinhaus here: 'I didn't come here for fun' - Afrikaner defends refugee status in US

BBC Newshour
BBC World Service

The South African Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development Mzwanele Nyhontso has said President Cyril Ramaphosa's meeting in the Oval Office was "uncomfortable" but that the president handled it well.

“It was uncomfortable to watch," Nyhontso told Paul Henley on BBC World Services Newshour from South Africa.

Ramaphosa had to explain to Trump that "there is no genocide in South Africa", Nyhontso says. "There is no killing of white farmers in South Africa. There is crime in South Africa, like in other countries, and this crime affects many people."

"I really want to congratulate the president of South Africa," he adds. "Keeping composure, kept on explaining to President Trump that we are here for trade and we are here for a good relationship between the two countries."

Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu
Live reporter in Washington DC

Image source, Reuters

That was an extraordinary meeting between South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and US President Donald Trump.

Here's a digest of the key moments:

• The two leaders fought over control of the conversation: Trump wanted to talk about violence against white people in South Africa but Ramaphosa wanted to talk trade
• Trump seemed to ambush Ramaphosa with a video of opposition party leader Julius Malema singing an apartheid-era song: Shoot the Boer (which can be translated as: Shoot the white farmer) as well as printed news articles of attacks on white farmers
• Ramaphosa distanced himself from the song, said there is free expression in South Africa and that his government's policy doesn't align with Malema's
• Golf legends Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, part of the South African delegation, weighed in, saying crime in South Africa was colour-blind
• Meanwhile Ramaphosa sought to interest Trump with South Africa's vast rare earth mining opportunities and the 600 US companies operating in his country
• South Africa's Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen, said the country is focused on fighting crime against farmers but it needed investments and economic progress
• Trump remained non-committal when asked if he would attend the G20 summit in South Africa in November, during which the US is due to take the rotating presidency

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Following the Oval Office match, Trump and Ramaphosa remained together behind closed doors, away from the curious eyes of the world's media.

It's not clear where the US-South Africa relationship goes after today's meeting - but it's safe to say that we are extremely unlikely to get any sort of firm announcement about trade, or anything else for that matter.

The tone of the public portion meeting was something along the lines of "agree to disagree", for now.

In the longer term, South Africa's delegation is already expressing confidence, with presidential spokesperson Vincent Mangwenya telling reporters that "the relationship will be fine".

For now, much of the South African focus will need to be on addressing the concerns that Trump raised in the Oval Office, which have now been amplified on the world stage.

Just earlier this afternoon, Mangwenya was outside the White House, telling reporters that the "evidence that has been collected [about the killing of white farmers] contradicts the noise and perception" that was evident in the Oval Office.

Mangwenya also specifically addressed the "Shoot the Boer" chant that was heard in one of the videos.

"That chant is a political chant," he said "There is no evidence that correlates the murders that we've seen in South Africa with that chant. None whatsoever."

Image source, Bernd Debusmann Jr/BBC News

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent

South Africa is one of the world's most unequal countries with more than half of the population living in poverty, as measured by the World Bank.

The extraordinary strides it has made after the dark history of racist oppression and segregation of apartheid have come despite daunting economic and political challenges. Murder rates are high in the country, but the overwhelming majority of victims are black.

Ramaphosa came to the White House seeking to discuss trade and critical minerals; an attempt to get American backing to help South Africa. Instead, he faced a televised ambush by President Trump, with his Vice President JD Vance, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick beside him, and the South African born billionaire Elon Musk watching behind the couch.

For Trump, whose aides wheeled out a TV screen to play unsourced videos, this was about pushing his administration’s discredited claim of genocide against white farmers, falsely comparing South Africa now to an “opposite apartheid”.

A pattern is emerging here.

After President Zelensky in February, some of those countries in the most vulnerable positions are being treated to the harshest humiliation in the Oval Office. This is partly about Trump trying to force his foreign policy through dominance, but also in this case about playing to some of the more extreme, white nationalist fringes of his base at home.

Trump has declared white South African farmers as the only people in the world currently worthy of asylum to the US. But world leaders have learned too.

Ramaphosa didn’t get drawn in, instead elegantly explaining to Trump the realities of his country’s history, and evoking the lessons of Nelson Mandela as an example of courageous and moral leadership.

Jonathan Josephs
BBC business reporter

This confrontation between Presidents Trump and Ramaphosa in the White House is not what South African business leaders wanted.

Just before the meeting, Busisiwe Muvaso, who is the CEO of Business Leadership South Africa, told the BBC “South Africa has much to lose and little to gain from further strain in the bilateral diplomatic relationship”.

She went on to explain that the approximately 600 US based firms that operate in South Africa are a “significant source of foreign investment in South Africa”.

There was also a lot of concern about tariffs with Muvaso saying that if Trump pushes ahead with his plan for a 30% rate, “it definitely would be disastrous”.

Success from the meeting, she said, would be keeping to the 10% default tariff rate and perhaps an exemption for the automotive and agricultural industries. Their exports to the US are a crucial part of a relationship that is vital to the health of South Africa’s economy.

Farouk Chothia
BBC South Africa analyst

Image source, AFP/Getty Images

US President Donald Trump has portrayed himself as the champion of South Africa's white farmers.

However, South Africa's farmers - both black and white - are united in opposing his tariff policy, fearing that it will threaten their livelihoods.

"There is immense anxiety in our communities," said Gerrit van der Merwe, the chairman of the Citrus Growers' Association of Southern Africa, in April.

Trump announced a 30% tariff on South African products, but paused it for 90 days, giving Ramaphosa's government a chance to negotiate a new deal.

Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen, who is visiting the US with Ramaphosa, has said that South Africa will try to avoid a 30% tariff "at all cost".

The delegation has now left the Oval office without any announcements on trade.

South Africa exported citrus fruit worth about $100m (£89m) to the US in 2024.

Brandon Drenon
Reporting from Washington DC

Donald Trump signed an executive order in January suspending the US refugee program, leaving over 120,000 conditionally approved refugees in limbo, many who, at the time, were just days away from departing for the US.

The following month, Trump signed an executive order making an exception for white South Africans who the US president said were facing "racial discrimination" and "a genocide", the latter claim widely dismissed.

Less than four months later, a plane with roughly 59 Afrikaners landed in the US.

"It’s not fair," a refugee from DR Congo who asked to be named Pacito to protect his identity told the BBC.

Pacito and his wife had been going through the refugee application process since 2016, including "the vetting, the security, the medical screenings", he said.

"We’ve waited for years, but now these (white South Africans) are just processed in like three months."

Another man from Gaza whose family has relocated to Egypt since the start of the Israel-Gaza war told the BBC that Trump has made it "impossible" for refugees to enter the US.

A lawsuit, external has been filed against the government for blocking the arrival of approved refugees. Plaintiffs include Pacito, and others, like "Afghan allies".

Jonathan Josephs
BBC business reporter

Trade is an important part of this meeting between the leaders of South Africa and the United States.

But its far from a balanced relationship. It would be of little surprise if President Trump uses this to get concessions out of President Ramaphosa.

Last year the two countries sold each other goods worth $20.5bn but three quarters of that went from South Africa to the US.

Some of the biggest sellers were metals, vehicles and fresh fruit and vegetables.

Importantly these exports are estimated to support somewhere in the region of 400,000 South African jobs.

Those are crucial because one of President Ramaphosa’s most pressing problems is that the official unemployment rate of 32.9% is one of the highest in the world.

If President Trump follows through with his threat of 30% tariffs instead of the current tariff free arrangement there are fears that unemployment rate could grow higher.

Khanyisile Ngcobo
Reporting from Johannesburg

Image source, Reuters

South Africans have praised President Cyril Ramaphosa’s skilful handling of what has been described as an ambush in the Oval Office.

His composure and attempts to defuse the situation earned him praise from leaders and experts back home.

A leader from his African National Congress party, Fikile Mbalula, praised Ramaphosa for setting "the record straight”.

Adding to this was political analyst Kagiso “TK” Pooe, who said Ramaphosa “handled [the situation] well” despite the disrespect he faced.

Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters party, however, was scathing, saying the delegation “failed dismally” to dispel the white genocide myth.

Image source, Getty Images

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

As he was leaving the White House, reporters shouted a few questions in Ramaphosa's direction.

In response to one question regarding the subsequent, closed-door meeting, the South African president said he believes it went "very well".

A moment later, he was asked whether he believes Trump "heard" him.

"I do," he said, popping his head out from behind that large black SUV that drove him away from the West Wing of the White House.

The rest of the South African delegation got into a large black bus. Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen nodded in the direction of journalists on his way out, but said nothing.

Cyril Ramaphosa has left the White House now, having joined President Trump for a bilateral lunch following that confrontation in the Oval Office.

Farouk Chothia
BBC South Africa analyst

Image source, Getty Images

South Africa's radical opposition politician Julius Malema's trademark song is "Shoot the Boer (Afrikaner), Shoot the farmer", which he sings at political rallies.

Such a clip was included in the video shown by Trump to the South Africans and Americans gathered in the Oval Office this afternoon.

Afrikaner lobby groups have tried to get the song banned, saying it was highly inflammatory and amounted to hate speech.

They have been backed by tech billionaire Elon Musk, who accuses Malema's party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), of "actively promoting" a genocide.

However, South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal has ruled that Malema is within his rights to sing the lyrics, first popularised during the anti-apartheid struggle, at political rallies.

The court ruled that a "reasonably well-informed person" would understand that when "protest songs are sung, even by politicians, the words are not meant to be understood literally, nor is the gesture of shooting to be understood as a call to arms or violence".

Instead, the song was a "provocative way" of advancing the EFF's political agenda - which was to end "land and economic injustice".

South Africa's highest court refused to hear an appeal against the ruling, saying it had little chance of succeeding.

President Ramaphosa's party says it no longer sings the song as the anti-apartheid struggle is over, but it cannot "prescribe" to other parties.

None of South Africa's political parties - including those that represent Afrikaners and the white community in general - have claimed that there is a genocide in South Africa.

But such claims have been circulating among right-wing groups for many years, and during his first term, Trump referred to the "large scale killing of farmers" in South Africa.

Some white farmers have been killed but a lot of misleading information has been circulated online.

In February, a South African judge dismissed the idea of a genocide as "clearly imagined" and "not real", when ruling in an inheritance case involving a wealthy benefactor's donation to white supremacist group Boerelegioen.

South Africa does not release crime figures based on race but the latest figures revealed that 6,953 people were murdered in the country between October and December 2024.

Of these, 12 were killed in farm attacks. Of the 12, one was a farmer, while five were farm dwellers and four were employees, who are likely to have been black.

• Read more about this topic here.

Trump shows video in effort to push debunked claims about white genocidepublished at 19:41 British Summer Time 21 May

19:41 BST 21 May

Nomia Iqbal
North America correspondent

During the meeting in the Oval Office, Donald Trump showed the South African delegation clips of a rally of a minority political party, the EEF.

In the video are chanting the anti-apartheid song "Shoot the Boer" which the governing party has distanced itself from. Though critics of Ramaphosa says he hasn't done enough to condemn them.

The videos Trump has shown are unverified and do not show evidence of a genocide. But he continues to push the claims.

Ramaphosa gives important context in that there have been killings of South African white farmers but police data shows it is a small fraction compared to the overall crime rate.

South African officials have said many of the victims in these instances were current or former farm workers who are mainly black.

In terms of taking land away, the South African government has passed a law - Expropriation Act 2024 - which allows the government to seize land for public purposes or in the public interest and without compensation.

But it has not been implemented, as it's being reviewed.

An Oval Office meeting as much about messaging as diplomacypublished at 19:34 British Summer Time 21 May

19:34 BST 21 May

Gary O'Donoghue
Chief North America correspondent

The cuing up of a video like we saw just a few minutes ago in the Oval Office, and forcing the South African delegation to watch looked very much like an ambush.

There were various inflection points during the hour Trump and Ramaphosa spent together in which the South African president chose to not react.

He cleverly used the people in the delegation to talk and to make points on his behalf - specifically that the speakers in the video shown are not actually in the South African government.

One thing to remember is that these encounters are as much about messaging as about diplomacy.

Why would you bring two professional golfers, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, to an Oval Office meeting? Even if they are friends with Trump, can't they go to lunch afterwards? There's clearly been a decision there to enlist their help in the geopolitics of the meeting.

The colour of the golfers' skin - as well as of Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen, who told the room that violence in South Africa is not just a problem for white people - is something people will debate, about whether that might have been a factor in their invitation.

What the South African delegation's thoughts were on that, or Trump's reaction, we don't know.

It was another extraordinary day the at White House, and the South Africans will feel that they navigated that as best they could.

Ramaphosa let down by golfers in teampublished at 19:28 British Summer Time 21 May

19:28 BST 21 May

Farouk Chothia
BBC South Africa analyst

Image source, Reut

Ramaphosa brought two of South Africa's top golfers - Ernie Els and Retief Goosen - with him to his meeting with Trump.

It was intended to show that he has the support of prominent Afrikaner personalities - and that there is racial harmony in South Africa.

But the decision backfired when Trump invited the golfers to talk in the Oval Office. Els said "two wrongs don't make a right", while Goosen said his family was living behind electric fences on a farm.

Ramaphosa got more backing from South African business tycoon Johann Rupert, who said that crime was across the board and affected all races. He referred to the gang violence in South Africa's Cape Flats - an urban sprawl with a large population of Coloured people (an officially used term for people of mixed racial origins in South Africa).

However, the message to Ramaphosa from this meeting was clear - he needs to tackle South Africa's problems, and quickly. Patience is running out.