Farouk Chothia
BBC South Africa analyst

Trump's second term has seen relations between the two nations reach their lowest ebb since white-minority rule ended in South Africa in 1994 with Nelson Mandela's rise to power.

Trump has alleged that a "genocide" is taking place against white people in South Africa, that they are facing "race-based discrimination" and their land is being "confiscated" - a claim widely discredited.

The most senior white politician in South Africa has said that President Ramaphosa will have to address the "nonsense" claim during his White House visit.

John Steenhuisen, the leader of South Africa's second-biggest party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), said that Ramaphosa would have to dispel the "myths" that had been "whispered" in Donald Trump's ear so that Washington took decisions based on "the facts and not the fiction".

His views are significant as he is also the agriculture minister in South Africa's coalition government, and keeps close contact with the farmers whom Trump claims are victims whose "land is being confiscated".

"There's not a single farm being expropriated without compensation," Steenhuisen said last week as he prepared to join Ramaphosa's delegation to the US.

Steenhuisen did not say who he believed had done the "whispering" in Trump's ear, but there's speculation he may have been referring to right-wing groups that have been to the US to lobby the Trump administration.

Image source, Reuters

Tesla CEO and SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk, who has emerged as a key adviser in Trump's second term, frequently attends meetings with the president and other officials, including foreign leaders.

He will be among Trump's delegation today, just as he was during the recent tour of the Middle East. But Musk has a special connection to this visit.

Musk was born and raised in apartheid South Africa. He left the country after high school and went to Canada before coming to study in the US.

He is a key driver behind one of the topics we're expecting to be brought up - the white South Africans granted refugee status in the US.

Recently the AI chatbot that operates on Musk's X social media platform - called Grok - repeatedly raised the topic of "white genocide" in South Africa in response to users who asked it questions on a variety of issues, whether or not the questions had anything to do with South Africa.

In a statement, X said that an employee had made an "unauthorised modification" to the chatbot that "directed Grok to provide a specific response on a political topic," which "violated xAI's internal policies and core values".

Daniel Wittenberg
Reporting from Washington DC

Image source, Reuters

Elon Musk is expected to be part of the US delegation for Cyril Ramaphosa’s visit to the White House today.

Musk, who was born in South Africa, is on the official list of attendees for the meeting in his capacity as Special Government Employee at the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Retired professional golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen are among a contingent of white Afrikaners in the South African delegation, who will be looking to woo President Trump to boost trade between the two countries, despite the Trump administration’s criticism of South African racial equity laws.

Khanyisile Ngcobo
Reporting from Johannesburg

Image source, Getty Images

Ramaphosa is heading into this meeting with Trump with two objectives: to secure a “really good trade deal” and clarify the country’s stance on key issues that have angered the US.

Relations between South Africa and the US hit an all-time low this year when Trump cut aid to the country over unfounded claims of a white genocide as well as the country’s international case against Israel.

While Ramaphosa seemed upbeat ahead of the meeting, experts like South African political analyst Anthoni van Nieuwkerk have warned that his "high-risk" decision to visit the White House amid tense relations may backfire and that he may be ambushed by Trump.

Pretoria has previously said it wanted to reset relations with one of its biggest trade partners and have a "frank, constructive discussion” on the thorny issues behind soured relations.

Farouk Chothia
BBC South Africa analyst

Image source, Getty Images

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa is the first African leader that Donald Trump will host at his office since he returned to power in January.

This is an honour normally reserved for a close ally, but Trump has invited a leader he has been treating like a foe.

He has done what no other world leader has done since the racist system of apartheid ended in South Africa in 1994, accusing South Africa of "egregious actions" in an an executive order he signed in February.

He gave Afrikaners refugee status, claiming they are victims of "race-based discrimination".

His intervention comes on behalf of right-wing Afrikaner lobby groups, who want him to go further by imposing sanctions on Ramaphosa and other leaders if the government does not change its policies.

Ramaphosa will want to avert sanctions by explaining to Trump that he means no harm to Afrikaners, and his policies are aimed at addressing the "race-based discrimination" that the black majority faced during white-minority rule.

The main events of Donald Trump and Cyril Ramaphosa's meeting today include an official greeting, a bilateral lunch followed by a bilateral meeting.

And these are the times we expect them to be at:

At 11:30 EDT (15:30 GMT/ 17:30 SAST) Trump will great the South African president.

We're expecting Ramaphosa to sign the visitor book, then, shortly after at 11:45 (15:45), he and Trump have a meeting over lunch.

And last on the schedule at 12:45 (16:45) the two leaders will have a bilateral meeting before Ramaphosa departs around 13:30 (17:30)

We'll be filling you in on all that goes on during and in-between these meetings - so stick with us.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Image source, Bernd Debusmann Jr/BBC News

It's rainy and grey at the White House today, with just a few hours to go until Cyril Ramaphosa's meeting with Donald Trump.

When I arrived earlier this morning, there was very little indication that a foreign dignitary would be visiting today. Just a small handful of reporters were taking cover under umbrellas doing their lives, and the press areas of the White House were - and remain - sparse.

Both South African and US officials have described this as a "working" visit, rather than a state visit.

In practice, this means that Ramaphosa's trip to the White House will go without all the pomp and pageantry of a more formal state visit.

Ramaphosa, for example, is not staying across the street from the White House at Blair House, where foreign leaders such as Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu have stayed during state visits since Trump has returned to office.

He is also unlikely to get a reception from flag-bearing US military personnel, although Trump will be on hand to greet him at the doors of the West Wing before their meeting begins.

Rachel Flynn
Reporting from Washington DC

Image source, Reuters

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of today's meeting between US President Donald Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

This isn't just an ordinary meeting between two world leaders.

It comes amid escalating tensions between them. Trump has claimed that a "genocide" is happening in South Africa, accusing the country of "egregious actions" towards the Afrikaner community.

He's since given Afrikaners refugee status in the US, claiming they are victim to "race-based discrimination".

Before this, the US imposed a 30% tariff on South African goods.

This means that Ramaphosa will be walking a tight-rope, hoping to come back with a better trade deal - and possibly a less contentious relationship.

We'll be here with all the news and analysis as the day unfolds.