Donald Trump (00:00):
Ernie Els a great golfer. He's a truly great golfer. Retief Goosen who's another, really… We call him really a great golfer too, Ernie, right. You two guys are fantastic. And we could add Gary to the group, Gary Player, what a group of golfers South Africa's had.
Cyril Ramaphosa (00:17):
Yes, yes.
Donald Trump (00:18):
There must be something in the water, right. It's something good. These two guys are unbelievable.
Cyril Ramaphosa (00:22):
It's the water. It's the water, sir.
Donald Trump (00:25):
Gary's Gary. And David Frost, also another one that I know is such a great one. Was he as good a putter as they say, David? He's a putter. He's a putting machine, right.
David Frost (00:35):
Absolutely.
Donald Trump (00:36):
But he's another one. So something very good about South Africa and golf. And golf is still doing great in South Africa and they have young players I hear coming up that are going to be very good. But it's an honor to have you here, my friend. It's an honor to have you one of the greatest businessmen in South Africa and long beyond. Thank you for being here. It's a very great honor. Appreciate it. So we're going to be discussing certain things. As you know, we have the G20 is going to South Africa. When is that going to be?
Cyril Ramaphosa (01:09):
In November.
Donald Trump (01:10):
In November.
Cyril Ramaphosa (01:11):
And thereafter I hand over to you.
Donald Trump (01:14):
Yes, we have it next year.
Cyril Ramaphosa (01:15):
You originated the G20. So I'll hand over the baton to you.
Donald Trump (01:19):
That's right.
Cyril Ramaphosa (01:19):
And then you lead the G20 of the world.
Donald Trump (01:23):
That's right. We're going to have it. We're going to have it the following year.
Cyril Ramaphosa (01:25):
Yeah, yeah.
Donald Trump (01:26):
So we'll be discussing many things and some of the things you've been reading about in the papers and the media. And I would say that look, the President is a truly respected man in many, many circles and in some circles he's considered a little controversial. But we're going to be discussing some of the things that are taking place in South Africa and see if we can help and we want to help. And we've had a long relationship with South Africa. I have, because indirectly I have so many friends that live there.
(01:59)
I have a lot of friends. I mean, these are famous guys, but I have a lot of friends that live there that are tremendous people. And we'll be discussing that. We'll have a nice conversation and I really appreciate that you guys came along. It really helps us in our thought process. But it is a great honor to have you and I appreciate you called. He called. I don't know where he got my number, but I picked it up. He said, "I want to come over and see you." And that was my honor and thank you very much for being here.
Cyril Ramaphosa (02:29):
You're most welcome. Most welcome. Well, thank you very much for welcoming us to this reformed White House. I've been here before and it looks really fantastic. I must congratulate you.
Donald Trump (02:42):
Thank you.
Cyril Ramaphosa (02:43):
But I also thank you for allowing our delegation. This is a very mixed delegation that you've got. We've got people from government, my ministers, I've got someone from the trade union movement who we really collaborate with, and from business as well, and our sporting legends. When I spoke to you, you said, "Yes, come along and bring Gary Player, bring Ernie Els, Retief Goosen," and I brought the two of them. Gary Player-
Donald Trump (03:13):
What happened to Gary.
Cyril Ramaphosa (03:13):
No, I spoke to him and he said, "Look, I'm getting rather on in my years, but wishes us luck in this discussion with you. So it's a real joy. And I'd also like to thank you for allowing your people to start discussions with us at the trade level. I mean, we are essentially here to reset the relationship between the United States and South Africa. We are long, long-standing partners in many, many ways. We've collaborated in many fields, in space issues, in energy and in trade. And we therefore need to reset that particularly in the light of some of the announcements that you made on trade and investment.
(04:02)
So we want to advance more trade between the two of us, two countries, and our people now have been empowered by yourself and by myself to start engaging. And we hope that we will be able to fuel that engagement during our talks. And we also want to discuss issues that have to do with how we promote further investments in both countries. We've got about 22 companies from South Africa that have invested in the US thus creating a number of jobs. And similarly, you've got almost 600 companies that have invested in South Africa and some of them have been in South Africa for more than a hundred years.
Donald Trump (04:44):
That's true.
Cyril Ramaphosa (04:44):
So our links are really long-lasting and we would like to recalibrate those relations between our two countries and discuss a whole range of issues, geopolitical, the work that you're doing to bring peace around the world, Ukraine and in the Middle East. So we value that. And we are also a great contributor to peace processes that are going on around the world. And of course we want to discuss how we can support each other. You are a much bigger economy than we are. We're just a tiny economy, but we rely on each other on a number of issues. We've got critical minerals that you want to fuel the growth of your own economy and re-industrialize.
(05:32)
So we have that on offer, including rare-earth minerals. So all of that combination of opportunity and the products that we buy from you as well as what we sell to you, I believe makes up a really good and powerful relationship, which we need to strengthen, which we need to engender, and that is really what has brought us here. And we are really privileged to have great South Africans in the mix. As you said, you'd like to see them as well. Now, I brought you a really fantastic golf book, weighs 14 kilograms.
Donald Trump (06:16):
Oh, that sounds good.
Cyril Ramaphosa (06:16):
And it showcases the golf courses in our country. Johann Rupert wrote preface, so did Ernie Els, and I want to showcase our golf courses. You might remember when I spoke to you and we spoke about golf, you said, "I should start practicing," and I've started practicing, President, so I'm ready. But let me end just the introductory remarks by thanking you. You may not recall that five years ago I spoke to you during the COVID period-
Donald Trump (06:51):
Right.
Cyril Ramaphosa (06:52):
… and it was at a time when the whole world was going through a really cathartic moment and we asked for assistance and you were able to assist us with res, what did you call it?
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Recipes.
Speaker 5 (07:10):
Reciprocity.
Speaker 6 (07:10):
[inaudible 00:07:10].
Cyril Ramaphosa (07:11):
Respirators, respirators, and you kept your word and you delivered respirators to us. We didn't have as many in our country and it really to help us deal with COVID. So I'm here also to say thank you and to thank the people of America for having helped us during a really difficult time. Being the small economy that we are, we needed help from around the world and you were there to provide that. So thank you very much.
Donald Trump (07:39):
I remember the call.
Cyril Ramaphosa (07:40):
Yeah.
Donald Trump (07:40):
We sent 150 respirators. We became the respirator king. We started making them. Nobody had them. We had very few of them.
Cyril Ramaphosa (07:50):
That's right.
Donald Trump (07:51):
But they were very helpful. But we sent 150 and-
Cyril Ramaphosa (07:54):
Yeah.
Donald Trump (07:54):
… I appreciated the letter. You wrote me a letter on.
Cyril Ramaphosa (07:56):
That's right. Yeah.
Donald Trump (07:59):
Thank you. I appreciate that very much.
Cyril Ramaphosa (07:59):
Thank you very much for that. It really touched my heart after I spoke to you and you delivered.
Donald Trump (08:05):
It's great honor.
Cyril Ramaphosa (08:05):
Thank you very much. Yeah, yeah.
Donald Trump (08:06):
Thank you. Any questions, please?
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Mr. President-
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Mr. President.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
… we welcome white Afrikaner refugees here. Can you explain to Americans why it's appropriate to welcome white Africans here when other refugees like Afghans, Venezuelans, Haitians, have all had their protected status revoked?
Donald Trump (08:25):
Well, this is a group, NBC, that is truly fake news. They ask a lot of questions in a very pointed way. They're not questions, they're statements. We've had tremendous complaints about Africa, about other countries too, from people. They say there's a lot of bad things going on in Africa. And that's what we're going to be discussing today. When you say we don't take others, all you have to do is take a look at the southern border. We let 21 million people come through our border, totally unchecked, totally unvetted. They came from all over the world. In many cases. They're criminals. They come from prisons, they come from mental institutions, they come from street gangs. They're drug dealers. So don't say that we didn't take them. We're taking them. We're trying to get them out as fast as we can. And we're doing record business on that.
(09:13)
And we just won a big case, where we're allowed to send back hundreds of criminals to Venezuela. Just won that today in the Supreme Court. I'm happy to hear. But we do have, a lot of people are very concerned with regard to South Africa, and that's really the purpose of the meeting and we'll see how that turns out. But we have many people that feel they're being persecuted and they're coming to the United States. So we take from many locations if we feel there's persecution or genocide going on. And we had a lot of people. I must tell you Mr. President, we have had a tremendous number of people, especially since they've seen this. Generally they're white farmers and they're fleeing South Africa and it's a very sad thing to see. But I hope we can have an explanation of that because I know you don't want that and it's kind of a different meeting. Normally we have meetings, we talk about trade and we'll be talking about trade and other things, but that certainly will be a subject that comes up. Yep.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Mr. President [inaudible 00:10:23] farmers-
Speaker 4 (10:23):
[inaudible 00:10:24]
Speaker 3 (10:23):
[inaudible 00:10:23].
Donald Trump (10:23):
Yes, please. Brian.
Brian (10:25):
Thank you very much. I'd like to get your thoughts on Letitia James. Director Pulte, according to him, Letitia James says that the alleged mortgage fraud was simply a mistake. I want to get your thoughts on that. She put down that her father was her husband in the order. And this is very similar to, I guess the false attacks that have occurred.
Donald Trump (10:49):
Well, I don't know what it is currently, but Letitia James, who's the Attorney General of New York state, it seemed, I'm not involved in that at all. I know that it's being handled by various groups I guess, but it's major fraud, mortgage documents and fraudulent everything. I think she said the father was her husband, which she had to have a husband or so she chose her father and she put it down. And didn't she sign in Virginia, she said she lived in Virginia and yet she's the New York State Attorney General. And she did that for tax reasons, so she could take advantage of taxes. And she had the wrong number of units. She had a much different number, which wouldn't have allowed her to qualify and scam the government. So I don't know. I think she's very bad for New York, but I really don't know too much about it. But I appreciate the question.
Brian (11:42):
Yes, sir.
Donald Trump (11:42):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 8 (11:42):
Mr. President [inaudible 00:11:47]-
Speaker 7 (11:42):
[inaudible 00:11:46].
Speaker 8 (11:42):
… for you to be convinced-
Donald Trump (11:42):
Go ahead.
Speaker 8 (11:42):
… that there's no genocide.
Speaker 8 (11:42):
Go ahead.
Donald Trump (11:42):
Please.
Speaker 9 (11:53):
Thank you, Mr. President. So May 25th will be the celebration of Africa Day, which pretty much a lot of celebration will be taking place around the world, including here in the United States. What is your message to the entire African continent, African people in this important occasion?
Donald Trump (12:10):
Well, I want to see peace and I want want to see happiness. I want to see health. And you have incredible land. There's tremendous value. A lot of countries don't have that value in the land, the value you have. We have a situation, I think you probably heard about it, we've done through some very talented people help settle a war that's been raging for years, Rwanda and the Congo. And I think we've done it, believe it or not, I think we've done it. And could you just say a few words about that, my friend?
Speaker 10 (12:42):
Yes. A couple of weeks ago the two parties signed Declaration of Principle in which they agreed on the way forward. And they have both submitted their draft piece agreements, and we have put together one that incorporates both of their suggestions and we've given it to them. So we're in the process of finalizing this.
Donald Trump (13:06):
Looking good, right.
Speaker 10 (13:07):
Looking very good.
Cyril Ramaphosa (13:08):
We have to thank you for even those efforts because the African continent, particularly SADC, our Southern African Development Community, has for years been seeking to foster peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. So all efforts, including those from outside the continent and inside the continent are really worthwhile. We are removing our troops from there so that peace can then prevail in that whole area. And we hope that with the support of the international community, we will really have peace in that area. It's so vital and it's so important for the whole region.
Donald Trump (13:52):
Well, we sent our people there and I think we did a very good job. I said it by my friend, and that was great. It was great. I mean, I'm just hearing phenomenal reports because all I'm hearing is death, death, and they're chopping heads off and it's horrible over there. And it was really brave of you to go there, and I really appreciate it. And it looks like we have something very substantial. We also talked about trade with them in terms of rare earth and all, but really more for the… It's like if you take a look at what we just did with Pakistan and India, we settled that whole thing.
(14:33)
And I think I said it was through trade. We're doing a big deal with India, we're doing a big deal with Pakistan. And I said, "What are you guys doing?" Somebody had to be the last one to shoot. But the shooting was getting worse and worse, bigger and bigger, deeper and deeper into the countries. And we spoke to them and I think we… I hate to say we got it settled. And then two days later, something happens and they say it's Trump's fault. But Pakistan has got some excellent people and some really good, a great leader. And India is my friend, Modi.
Cyril Ramaphosa (15:10):
Modi-
Donald Trump (15:10):
And he's a-
Cyril Ramaphosa (15:10):
… mutual friend.
Donald Trump (15:10):
Yeah, he's a great guy. And I called them both, and we just did something good. We were trying to settle Russia-Ukraine, spoke with President Putin for two and a half hours the day before yesterday. I think we made a lot of progress. But that's a bloodbath. 5,000 people are being killed a week, 5,000 soldiers a week, not including people in cities and towns that are also being killed. So we're trying to help, and it doesn't affect us. It's not our people. It's not our soldiers. It's not our… It's Ukraine and it's Russia. But if we can save 5,000 souls, we'll do it. We're pretty good at it. But that's a bad situation. That is a really bad situation.
Cyril Ramaphosa (15:55):
Well, you recall when President Zelenskyy was coming to South Africa, that's when I spoke
Donald Trump (16:00):
That's right.
Cyril Ramaphosa (16:00):
We both agreed that we need to push the peace message so that there can really be peace. And we've been involved in the Ukraine-Russia conflict for quite a while. Through my Minister of State Security here, we've been dealing with them and the exchange of children who were taken away, going through names and addresses and all that. So we've been invested in that whole process as well. And the moves that you're making are fully supported by us because we would like to see the end of that war.
Donald Trump (16:33):
Sure. I called Zelensky and they said, "He's in South Africa." I said, "What the hell is he doing in South Africa?"
Cyril Ramaphosa (16:47):
He was talking to us.
Donald Trump (16:47):
We got this [inaudible 00:16:48]. That's a strange one. I said, "What are you doing in South Africa?
Cyril Ramaphosa (16:47):
Yes.
Donald Trump (16:48):
Such a strange one.
Cyril Ramaphosa (16:49):
He's trying to make peace.
Donald Trump (16:53):
He's doing something.
Cyril Ramaphosa (16:54):
We were lucky because we had the great Nelson Mandela, who taught us how to create peace, to make peace. So we were imparting some of those lessons to him, some of those learnings. And I specifically mentioned to him that, "This is how Nelson Mandela taught us, that when you want to have peace in a country, do it on an unconditional basis, and sit down and talk." And that's precisely what I'm sure he's going to heed moving forward.
Donald Trump (17:24):
Well, I want to see what happens with that one. There's a lot of hatred, there's a lot of death, it's a bloodbath.
Cyril Ramaphosa (17:31):
It is. It is, unfortunately.
Donald Trump (17:33):
I get the satellite pictures of that field, of that killing field. You never saw anything like it in your life, it's horrible. It's a horrible thing that it goes on, but I think we've made big progress.
Crowd (17:45):
[inaudible 00:17:49].
Donald Trump (17:49):
Yeah, please go ahead.
Speaker 11 (17:50):
Thank you, Mr. President.
Donald Trump (17:50):
No, not you. Right here. He's from South Africa. Go ahead, please.
Speaker 12 (18:02):
What are you expecting on the ICJ case? Are you expecting South Africa to drop that, is that what you're trying to do?
Donald Trump (18:02):
On which case?
Speaker 12 (18:02):
The ICJ.
Cyril Ramaphosa (18:02):
The International Criminal Justice.
Donald Trump (18:11):
I don't expect anything, to be honest. I really don't. I don't know. They've got a case, there's a lot of anger there, tremendous anger. I don't expect anything. We'll see what happens. We'll have a ruling, and who knows what the ruling's going to mean?
Speaker 13 (18:25):
On that subject of Gaza, Mr. President, are you going to be speaking to Prime Minister Netanyahu about Israel's renewed offensive there? There's been a lot of concern from European countries. The Pope has expressed concern. Are you going to be asking Prime Minister Netanyahu to turn down the offensive in Gaza to let more aid in?
Donald Trump (18:43):
Was that a question or a statement?
Speaker 13 (18:43):
It's a question.
Donald Trump (18:46):
He never changes.
Speaker 14 (18:48):
Mr. President, what will it take for you to be convinced that there's no white genocide in South Africa?
Cyril Ramaphosa (18:55):
Well, I can answer that for the President. So for him, no seriously-
Donald Trump (18:57):
I'd rather have him answer.
Cyril Ramaphosa (18:57):
Yeah, I'd rather answer that.
Speaker 14 (19:05):
Our President will respond to you. Thank you, Mr. President.
Cyril Ramaphosa (19:09):
It will take President Trump listening to the voices of South Africans, some of whom are his good friends, like those who are here. When we have talks between us at a quiet table, it'll take President Trump to listen to them. I'm not going to be repeating what I've been saying. I would say if there was Afrikaner farmer genocide, I can bet you these three gentlemen would not be here, including my Minister of Agriculture, he would not be with me. So it'll take him, President Trump listening to their stories, to their perspective. That is the answer to your question.
Speaker 14 (19:52):
Thank you, Mr. President.
Donald Trump (19:52):
But, Mr. President, I must say that we have-
Speaker 15 (19:57):
President Trump.
Donald Trump (19:58):
No, no wait. We have thousands of stories talking about it-
Cyril Ramaphosa (19:59):
Sure.
Donald Trump (20:00):
And we have documentaries. We have news stories on it. Is Natalie here? Is somebody here to turn that? I could show you a couple of things, and it has to be responded to.
Cyril Ramaphosa (20:14):
Yeah, show me.
Donald Trump (20:16):
Let me see the articles please, if you would. And excuse me, turn the lights down, turn the lights down and just put this on, it's right behind you.
Video Recording (20:25):
There's nothing this parliament can do with or without you. People are going to occupy land. We require no permission from you, from the President, from no one. We don't care. We can do whatever you want to do. Who are you to tell us whether we can occupy land or not? We are going to occupy land, South African occupy land. That's who we are. [inaudible 00:20:57]
Video Recording (21:44):
Never be scared to kill. A revolution demands that at some point there must be killing, because the killing is part of a revolutionary act. Shoot to kill. Kill the poor. [foreign language 00:21:40] in the white man. So these people, when you want to hit them hard, go after a white man. They feel a terrible pain because you have touched a white man. Not because [inaudible 00:21:55] will not be touched. They will be touched. But we are starting with this white mess. We are cutting the throats of one person on. Shoot to kill. Kill the poor, kill the poor, kill the poor. Shoot to kill. Kill the poor.
(21:47)
I don't know what's in the future. I'm saying to you it was not worth the killing of white people, at least for now. I can't even see the picture. You don't understand something you are watching, especially as it gets shared on Twitter. They freak out. It sounds like a genocide. [foreign language 00:23:27].
Video Recording (23:47):
Who will expropriate them without compensation, whether they like it or not. If they object, they can seek refugee in America.
Donald Trump (23:54):
Now, this is very bad. These are burial sites right here, burial sites, over a thousand, of white farmers. And those cars are lined up to pay love on a Sunday morning. Each one of those white things you see is a cross and there's approximately a thousand of them. They're all white farmers, the family of white farmers. And those cars aren't driving. They're stopped there to pay respects to their family member who was killed. And it's a terrible sight. I've never seen anything like it. Both sides of the road you have crosses. Those people were all killed.
Cyril Ramaphosa (24:54):
Have they told you where that is, Mr. President?
Donald Trump (24:56):
No.
Cyril Ramaphosa (24:57):
No? I'd like to know where that is because this I've never seen.
Donald Trump (25:05):
It's in South Africa This Week.
Cyril Ramaphosa (25:07):
I need to find out.
Speaker 16 (25:36):
Mr. President, the Pentagon announced that it would be accepting a Qatari jet to be used as Air Force One.
Donald Trump (25:41):
What are you talking about? You know, you to need get out of here. What does this have to do with the Qatari jet? They're giving the United States Air Force a jet, and it's a great thing. We're talking about a lot of other things. It's NBC trying to get off the subject of what you just saw. You are a real, you're a terrible reporter. Number one, you don't have what it takes to be a reporter, you're not smart enough. But for you to go onto a subject about a jet that was given to the United States Air Force, which is a very nice thing, they also gave $5.1 trillion worth of investment in addition to the jet. You ought to go back to your studio at NBC because Brian Roberts and the people that run that place, they ought to be investigated. They are so terrible the way you run that network and you're a disgrace. No more questions from you.
(26:37)
Go ahead. Go ahead talk about that. His name is Peter something. He's a terrible reporter.
(26:46)
Quiet. Let's go.
Speaker 17 (26:55):
Thank you so much, President Trump. Anna from EFCA South Africa. Thank you very much.
Donald Trump (26:55):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 17 (26:57):
What would you like President Ramaphosa to do about the situation that we've just seen on the screen?
Donald Trump (27:05):
I don't know. Look, these are articles over the last few days. Death of People. Death, death, death, horrible death, death. I don't know. Pick anyone, white South Africans are fleeing because of the violence and racist laws. And this is all, I'll give these to you. So when you say, what would I like to do? I don't know what to do. Look at this. White South African couples say that they were attacked violently.
Speaker 18 (27:43):
You could go and see for yourself.
Donald Trump (27:45):
Well, I could do that. Look, here's burial sites all over the place. These are all white farmers that are being buried. And he asks about a jet that was given. You ought to be ashamed of you. You know you are so bad, you're such a bad reporter. This is one after another. This family was wiped out. I'm just looking.
Speaker 18 (28:12):
Can we get a reaction from President Ramaphosa to those videos, Mr. President?
Donald Trump (28:19):
Well, I think the videos are so, no, no, when you look at the videos, I mean, how does it get worse? And these are people that are officials and they're saying that kill the white farmer and take their land. That's what-
Speaker 18 (28:31):
Please allow President Ramaphosa to respond.
Donald Trump (28:32):
And I have other friends in South Africa, I have people that left, one in particular that says you can't go there. He said they take your land, they take your land and they kill you. It's okay and they say it's okay to do. Now, we're going to talk about it. But this is a tremendous… Look, this story is recent. These are all people that recently got killed. And I don't know how it can get any worse. These are… And you know the man that you saw, the men that you saw, the people that you saw on that movie, these are officials. Those are people that were in office, they had one march. They had a dance in your parliament, whatever you may call it, legislature.
Cyril Ramaphosa (29:18):
Let me clarify that.
Donald Trump (29:19):
Yeah, please.
Cyril Ramaphosa (29:19):
Let me clarify that. Because what you saw, the speeches that were being made, one that is not government policy. We have a multi-party democracy in South Africa that allows people to express themselves, political parties to adhere to various policies. And in many cases or in some cases, those policies do not go along with government policy. Our government policy is completely, completely against what he was saying, even in the Parliament. And they're a small minority party, which is allowed to exist in terms of our constitution.
Donald Trump (30:02):
But you do allow them to take land.
Cyril Ramaphosa (30:05):
No, no, no.
Donald Trump (30:06):
You do allow them to take land.
Cyril Ramaphosa (30:07):
Nobody can take land.
Donald Trump (30:09):
And then when they take the land, they kill the white farmer. And when they kill the white farmer, nothing happens to them.
Cyril Ramaphosa (30:15):
No, that is quite-
Donald Trump (30:16):
Nothing happens to them.
Cyril Ramaphosa (30:17):
There is criminality in our country. People who do get killed, unfortunately, through criminal activity are not only white people. The majority of them are black people. And we have now-
Donald Trump (30:32):
The farmers are not black. The farmers are not black. I don't say that's good or bad, but the farmers are not black. And the people that are being killed in large numbers, and you saw all those grave sites and those are people that, loved ones going, I guess, on a Sunday morning, they told me, to pay respect to their loved ones that were killed. Their heads chopped off. They died violently. We're here to talk about it and I didn't know we'd get involved here, but I will say this, that if the news wasn't fake, like NBC, which is fake news, totally one of the worst, ABC, NBC, CBS, horrible, but if they weren't fake news, like this jerk that we have here, if we had real reporters, they'd be covering it. But the fake news in this country doesn't talk about that. They don't want to talk about it. But now they have to talk about it, but they won't. This won't even be a subject.
(31:29)
They'll have him talking about why did a country give a free thing of this? Why did a country give an airplane to the United States Air Force? Okay, the United States, not to me, to the United States Air Force. So they can help us out because we need an Air Force One until our Air Force One, it's being built, two of them being built. But Boeing's a little bit late, unfortunately. So why did they give us a plane to the United States Air Force? That's what that
Donald Trump (32:00):
… he talks about after viewing a thing where thousands of people are dead.
Cyril Ramaphosa (32:04):
I'm sorry, I don't have a plane to give you.
Donald Trump (32:07):
I wish you did. I would take it. If your country offered the United States Air Force a plane, I would take it.
Cyril Ramaphosa (32:14):
Okay. But coming back to this issue, which I really would like us to talk about and talk about it very calmly, we were taught by Nelson Mandela that whenever there are problems, people need to sit down around a table and talk about them.
Donald Trump (32:31):
Well, there are problems.
Cyril Ramaphosa (32:31):
And this is precisely what we would also like to talk about, including of course, trade matters, investment matters. So the issues that concern you as the United States, and-
Donald Trump (32:44):
These are all recent. Those are all deaths.
Cyril Ramaphosa (32:45):
In many ways… I mean, one should say you are a partner, partner of South Africa and you are raising concerns. And these are concerns that we are willing to talk to you about. Let me just add quickly, the criminality that we're experiencing in our country needs quite a lot of technological capability. And in one of our areas in South Africa, we're using US technology. Which is able to in many ways identify where shootings are happening and all that. And I'd like to talk about that, because there is support that we can get from you and the United States to help us deal with all these acts of criminality. And that is what I believe partnership is all about. And we are here as a partner so that we can help each other whenever there are challenges. So I'd like us to discuss it and of course, outside of the media, so that we sit down and have a really good discussion that will lead to good outcomes.
Audience (34:04):
[inaudible 00:34:04].
Reporter (34:04):
Are there any other punitive measures that could be in place should you not be satisfied that South Africa is fixing some of the very bad things in those comments that you tweeted are happening?
Donald Trump (34:13):
Well, there are a lot of bad things happening in many countries, but this in particular has been very, very bad. Very bad. And because of, we're going to have the whole world watching it another short period of time because you have the G-20, and that's a big deal. And it seems like, I mean, I want you to look good. I don't want you to look bad.
Cyril Ramaphosa (34:35):
Very good.
Donald Trump (34:37):
But we have hundreds of people, thousands of people trying to come into our country because they feel they're going to be killed and their land is going to be confiscated. And you do have laws that were passed that gives you the right to confiscate land for no payment. You can take away land for no payment.
Cyril Ramaphosa (34:51):
I want to clarify that. Because we have a constitution. Our constitution guarantees and protects the sanctity of tenure of land ownership. And that constitution protects all South Africans with regard to land ownership. However, we do say, because we've got to deal with the past, the government and, as your government also has the right to expropriate land for public use.
Donald Trump (35:21):
And you're doing that.
Cyril Ramaphosa (35:23):
And we've never really gotten underway with that. And we are going to be doing that.
Donald Trump (35:28):
You're taking people's land away.
Cyril Ramaphosa (35:30):
We have not.
Donald Trump (35:31):
From them.
Cyril Ramaphosa (35:31):
We have-
Donald Trump (35:32):
And those people in many cases are being executed. They're being executed. And they happen to be white, and most of them happen to be farmers. And that's a tough situation. I don't know how you explain that. How do you explain that? They're taking people's land away. And in many cases those people are being executed. And in many cases it's not the government that's doing it, it's people that kill them and then take their land and nothing happens to them.
(35:59)
But we have thousands of people that want to come into our country. They're also going to Australia in a smaller number. But we have thousands of people that want to come into our country, and they're white farmers and they feel that they're going to die in South Africa. And it's a bad thing.
Audience (36:16):
[inaudible 00:36:17].
Reporter (36:21):
What can South Africa do? What concessions would you like to see them make to improve relations with the United States? Then I have one more for President Ramaphosa afterwards.
Donald Trump (36:31):
We just spoke about… I got them a very, very complex machine, 150 of them. I was asked by the president if they could help. And I did that. And I have great feeling for all countries. Look, I deal with all countries. But I have a great feeling for South Africa because I have friends, I have a couple of friends, a few friends here today. I have many friends from South Africa, but many of those friends are, they can't go back. I have, Elon is from South Africa. I don't want to get Elon involved. That's all I have to do, get him into another thing. But Elon happens to be from South Africa. This is what Elon wanted. He actually came here on a different subject, sending rockets to Mars. He likes that better. He likes that subject better.
Cyril Ramaphosa (37:18):
That's right.
Donald Trump (37:19):
But Elon is from South Africa. I don't want to talk to him about that. I don't think it's fair to him.
Cyril Ramaphosa (37:25):
That's right.
Donald Trump (37:25):
But I will say that people are fleeing South Africa for their own safety. Their land is being confiscated and in many cases they're being killed. And that scene of, you see how many crosses they have. Those crosses, that's a dead person in every one of them. And those trucks or cars are paying their respects to all of those dead people on a Sunday morning. That's a rough thing to explain away.
Audience (37:52):
[inaudible 00:37:53].
Cyril Ramaphosa (37:53):
And the problem we have, and the way… A correct and a fair media exposes things, but we have a very corrupt media. They won't even report this. If this were the other way around, it would be the biggest story. Now I will say Apartheid terrible. That was the biggest story. That was reported all the time. This is sort of the opposite of Apartheid. What's happening now is never reported. Nobody knows about it. All we know is we're being inundated with people, with white farmers from South Africa. And it's a big problem. Marco Rubio was telling me he's never seen anything like it. The numbers of people that want to leave South Africa because they feel they're going to be dead very soon.
(38:40)
Yes, please? Brian, go.
Brian (38:43):
If I could just ask you the question. 72% of farmers in your country are white. If they flee, do you feel that maybe the economy could collapse? You may not have a gap to fill in those people that need replace those farmers?
Cyril Ramaphosa (38:57):
I'd like my minister of Agriculture, who is white, who comes from an opposition party to mine, who has joined my government at my invitation, to address this very issue, including the question that you've just raised. John?
John (39:18):
Thank you very much, Mr. President. And Mr. President, thank you for welcoming us to the White House.
(39:22)
I would say we have a rural safety problem. I don't think anyone wants to candy coat that. And it requires a lot of effort to get on top of it. It's going to require more policing resources, it's going to require different strategy to be able to deal with it. But certainly the majority of South Africa's commercial and small-holder farmers really do want to stay in South Africa and make it work. And I've just come from the largest agricultural show in the Southern Hemisphere with organized Agriculture and farmers, and the majority of them want to stay. But they too, they have a memorial to those who've died as a result of farm attacks And as the Minister of Agriculture, it is something that I'm particularly exercised with my colleagues of police and my colleagues in the justice cluster, to start making farm attacks and stock theft a priority crime.
(40:11)
And it affects all farmers in South Africa, particularly stock theft has a disproportionate effect on small black farmers. I also want to just say this, that the two individuals that are in that video that you've seen are both leaders of opposition, minority parties in South Africa. [inaudible 00:40:28] under Mr. Zuma and economic freedom fighters under Mr. Maimane.
(40:34)
Now the reason that my party, the Democratic Alliance, which has been an opposition party over 30 years, chose to join hands with Mr. Ramaphosa's party was precisely to keep those people out of power. We cannot have those people sitting in the union buildings making decisions. And that is why after 30 years of us exchanging barbs across the floor in parliament and trying to get one over on each other, we've decided to join hands precisely to keep that lot out of government. Because the day they get in, to the doors of the union buildings in South Africa, or control of our parliament, that's what you're going to see. And that is why this government, working together, needs the support of our allies around the world. So that we can strengthen our hand, grow our economy, and shut the door forever on that rebel getting through the doors of the union bodies because then South Africa's future would be-
Brian (41:28):
So who denounced that type of language in the video that you saw?
Cyril Ramaphosa (41:31):
Oh, yes. We've always done so, as government as my own party. We are completely opposed to that. We, in 1955, adopted a document which said, "South Africa belongs to all who live in it."
Donald Trump (41:47):
But why wouldn't you arrest that man? That man said, "Kill the white farmers. Kill the white farmers." And then he danced. And he's dancing, dancing and it's, "Kill the white farmers." I'm not sure, but I think if somebody got up in parliament and started saying kill a certain group of people, he would be arrested very quickly. That man is going all over South Africa. And that's not a small party. That was a stadium that holds a hundred thousand people and I hardly saw an empty seat. That's a lot of people. That's a lot of representation. And those crosses, where you have dead white people, dead white farmers mostly. And you take a look at Australia, they're being inundated and we're being inundated with people that want to get out. And their farm is valueless. It's valueless, and they just want to get out with their life.
(42:43)
And this is a very serious situation. And if we had a real news or real press or media, we don't have that, because they won't talk about this because they're all guys like that idiot. But if we had a real press, it would be exposed. And the beauty of exposing it is it's like a cleansing action. When it gets exposed, it'll get fixed. That's when it'll get fixed. But people don't talk about it. And I'll tell you who's talking about the thousands of people that are fleeing South Africa right now.
Audience (43:12):
[inaudible 00:43:13].
Reporter (43:13):
We discussed USAID and the devastating impact that cuts are having across the African continent.
Donald Trump (43:25):
Yeah, it's devastating and hopefully a lot of people are going to start spending a lot of money. And I've talked to other nations. We want them to chip in and spend money, too. And we've spent a lot and it's a tremendous problem going on in many countries. A lot of problems going on. The United States always gets the request for money. Nobody else helps, as you know. Europe doesn't help. Europe hasn't given anything. All they do is sue our companies. They sue Apple and they sue all of our companies. Apple had to pay $17 billion on a nonsense lawsuit. Very unfair. But we are going to always be there to help.
Audience (44:08):
[inaudible 00:44:11].
Sherwin Bryce-Pease (44:11):
Sherwin Bryce-Pease, South African Broadcasting. If this Afrikaner resettlement issue is resolved. You're going to go into a room after this. You guys are going to talk. If it is resolved, what is the potential for the future-looking relationships between the United States-
Donald Trump (44:26):
It's got to be resolved. It should be resolved. I mean, it is a little bit bad when you see a stadium with a hundred thousand people in it, because that means it's more than just a little movement. It's a pretty big movement in South Africa. So it has to be resolved. It'll be the end of the country if it's not.
Sherwin Bryce-Pease (44:39):
There's a potential for the relationship moving forward?
Donald Trump (44:41):
I hope so. That's why I'm here.
Sherwin Bryce-Pease (44:43):
[inaudible 00:44:43] November.
Donald Trump (44:44):
I mean, I'm not here for my health. I'm here to see… No, I'd like to see. I have friends. I can tell you. Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, they feel so strongly. They wanted to be here on behalf of South Africa, not on behalf of me. And they said, "Can we be here for this?" Because they love the country. Ernie, do you guys want to say a couple of words? I hate to put you in this. This is tougher than sinking a three footer, and they've sank many three-footers.
Ernie Els (45:18):
Thank you, Mr. President, and thanks for the honor of being here. We've known each other a long time. We have spoken. We're proud South Africans. I still have my South African passport. We travel with this passport and I got my visa here. But we want to see things get better in our home country. That's the bottom line. It's been 35 years since the transition. President Ramaphosa was right in the middle of the transition time in 1990 and before that. So it's been 35 years of ANC government. And I know there's a lot of anger through the transition. There was also a lot of stuff happening in the Apartheid phase. We grew up in the Apartheid era, but I don't think two wrongs makes a right. President Mandela, when he came out of prison for all that time, didn't come out with hatred and really unified our nation with his support. We won the Rugby World Cup in '95. We won the African Nations Cup, soccer. We won some majors as golfers and so forth.
(46:53)
So what I'm trying to say is this has been a long time coming. That's why we really wanted to meet you, meet the administration and see our way forward. Because we still want to see our country flourish. We've got some great things going on, businesses getting involved with the government. Farmers are getting involved in local municipalities, trying to rebuild some of the infrastructure that's been decaying for a long time. So there's a lot of coexistence going on, in health, from a lot of areas. But I feel we need the US to push this thing through. We've got a great ally. We can have, US has always been an ally of South Africa for a very long time. Even in the days of the war up in Angola, you guys helped us. So very important for us to have your support
Ernie Els (48:01):
And get the change we need.
Donald Trump (48:03):
Where did you do that well? He might have done that even better than he plays golf, which is almost impossible. Johan, please.
Johan Rupert (48:16):
Sorry Mr. President, if you had to wind all of those tape properly, you will see I'm the biggest target of that rubber browser, number one, for over 10 years, Mr. Malema. In fact, the first time I met him, he was in the youth league with that gentleman, and look how he's changed. We have too many deaths, but it's across the board. It's not only white farmers. It's across the board. And we need technological help. We need Starlink at every little police station. We need drones. I actually got drones donated for the peace parks to stop elephant and rhino poaching. And his predecessor stopped the importation because he said the United States would spy on us. US faces the ridicule. So if you can help us… Remember, sir, you and I lived in New York in the seventies. We never thought New York would be what it became. Two commissioners, a tough mayor. We need your help to stop this awful killing, but it's across the board.
(49:44)
Ernie is right now building a house in George. I'm building three cottages for my grandchildren on a farm outside Graaff-Reinet. I often go to bed without locking the door. And we have a serious problem with illegal aliens who stream across the border. And if you really look at our statistics, a lot of these murders, firstly it's unemployed and illegal aliens. And then I met Vice President Vance many years ago at a Charlie Rose show. My wife loved the book, but she reminded me this morning that you emphasized the devastation that occurs when big companies leave towns and cities and there's a culture of dependency that develops. I remember you discussing it now. Now that's our problem. If we don't get our economy to grow, the culture of dependency and the lawlessness will increase. I've been against apartheid all my life, and I'm their number one target. Please just Google my name and Malema. You'll see it, sir. He marched on the farm.
Donald Trump (51:11):
But the crime is bad.
Johan Rupert (51:13):
The crime is terrible, sir. But Mr. Steenhusien won't admit to it, but he runs the Western Cape where I live, and the biggest murder rate is in the Cape Flats. Gangs. We've got gang warfare like your M-33, whatever these guys, we've got equivalents there. But we need your help, sir, and we need Elon's technology.
Cyril Ramaphosa (51:40):
One of the real areas of support is really in investments. We've got to grow our economy because through growing the economy, we are then able to create more jobs because crime really thrives where there is inequality and unemployment, and that is one of the reasons that has brought us here, to improve our investment relations, our trade relations so that we can preserve the number of jobs that your companies have created in South Africa by virtue of what we export to you. We are able to create up to 500,000 jobs in the auto industry, in the agricultural industry and a number of other industries, mining where we export things to you. And we also know that as South African companies invest here, you are also able to create jobs. So it's a mutually beneficial relationship. So our main real reason for being here is to foster trade and investment so that we are able to grow our economy with your support and so that we are also able to address all these societal problems because criminality thrives when people are unemployed, when there's no other hope to eke out a living.
(53:07)
So that is what we need to resolve. And with your support, your partnership with us is what is it really going to give us a strong, strong capability to move forward.
Donald Trump (53:22):
Excuse me, do you have anything to say? I don't want to leave you out. The guy won three or four majors. Three or four?
Goosen (53:29):
No, only two.
Donald Trump (53:31):
That's a lot. By the way, two is a lot. A lot of tournaments you won too. Do you have anything to say?
Goosen (53:47):
Yeah, thank you. Mr. President. President Ramaphosa. I grew up in an area in South Africa that is a farm land area in Polokwane, and there is some issues up there obviously. My dad was a property developer as well as a part-time farmer. And yeah, some of his buddy farmers got killed. The farm is still going. My brothers run it. But it's a constant battle with farms trying to burn the farms down to chase you away. So it is a concern to try and make a living as a farmer. And at the end, without farmers, there's no food on the plate. So we need the farmers to produce…
Donald Trump (54:21):
He wouldn't do it. He wouldn't even want to do what you're doing. They love farming. They don't want to leave. But it is a struggle.
Goosen (54:27):
And food and fresh water is the most important thing in life. Without those two things, you can't survive.
Donald Trump (54:34):
How is the water there?
Goosen (54:36):
The water's great. Obviously all the water comes out of the borehole, out of ground for us. But yeah, it is a battle to get the water out sometimes when all the equipment gets stolen all the time that you're trying to get water out.
Donald Trump (54:51):
So does your family and your brother, do they feel safe on the farm?
Goosen (54:55):
They live behind electric fences, try and be at night safe. But it is constant whenever you leave that something could happen and.
Donald Trump (55:09):
That's no way to live.
Goosen (55:11):
Both of them has been attacked in their houses. My mom's been attacked in her house when she was 80. So it is difficult, but the guys live a great life despite everything going on.
Cyril Ramaphosa (55:29):
President Trump, I brought along the president of the largest trade union in our country, Zingiswa Losi, because she leads many, many workers, more than 1 million, 2 million workers, and maybe we should give her a chance to say something because she's come all the way to join us.
Zingiswa Losi (55:50):
Thank you very much Mr. President Trump for having us and president for extending the invitation to us as organized labor. And I must say that we are here to support the initiative that has been made by our government, with business, of course, as organized leader. We've been coming to Washington on the AGOA trade relations in the previous regime. And I think at the center of it all for me, it is exactly what Mr. Rupert has said, the importance of us growing the economy. We have always emphasized, when we were here and kept on coming and negotiating on AGOA, that the 600 U.S companies that are based in South Africa, as you said, President Ramaphosa, 500,000 jobs will be wiped out. We need more foreign investment in our country. We are not just talking about those that will lose employment, but you're talking about over 40% of people that are unemployed, that have no hope of ever finding a job.
(56:57)
And we think that, correctly as they have said, that we need to deal with the issue of porous borders in our country so that everyone that comes in is documented. We also need to… And I would've thought that the minister would address the issue of land expropriation and how the policy works in South Africa. Recently, President, as you were preparing to come here on the news, I think it was in Natal, there was a handover of farms and white farmers were saying we are donating the land, but also there's a willing buyer, a willing seller in South Africa. So there is no expropriation without compensation, but it is a willing buyer, willing seller. And that white farmer was even saying, President, that the government is even paying more in buying the land than what the land is worth off. And I think those are the realities, President, that we need to address, of course, but also the importance of agriculture linked to AGOA.
(58:08)
People rely on it and I think, as Retief has said, for survival and living. But lastly for me, President, is also the issue of the crime statistics. There is no doubt about it that we are a violent nation for a number of reasons, and we're not condoning anything. But also if you go into the rural areas where black majority are, you would see women, elderly being raped, being killed, being murdered. And these are black elderly women that would be found throat slits, raped multiple times and all of that. And the problem in South Africa, it is not necessarily about race, but it's about crime, and we think that we are here to say how do we both nations work together to reset, to really talk about investment, but also help us in how we can have the technology and everything that is needed, President, to really address the levels of crime that we have in our country. Thank you very much.
Speaker 19 (59:25):
Genocide is a very strong word. I'm wondering if you made up your mind as to whether you believe genocide is occurring in South Africa or you still have doubt? And if you have made up your mind, why invite President Ramaphosa here today?
Donald Trump (59:35):
Well, I haven't made up my mind. I hate to see it from the standpoint of South Africa, but also I'm trying to save lives. I'm working with Russia and Ukraine. I don't have to do that. It's not our war. It was started by other people. It was helped along by our past administration. It would've never happened if I were president, but I'm trying to save lives. And no matter where… Rwanda, I have nothing to do with Rwanda and the Congo, but I felt I had a very talented person in this administration and I sent him there and he did an unbelievable job, I think. I mean we're going to find out, but he's done the hardest part of the job. It should happen. If I can save lives, I want to save the lives. If it's in Africa, that's great, if it's in Europe, wherever it may be. And it's a very small investment to do, believe me, compared to what the consequences are. So I hope we can do something. Look, I have so many friends. These two men, I have great admiration for them because I know what they do for a living, and that's a very hard living, going from city to city, from country to country and hitting a ball 350 yards like they do and…
Cyril Ramaphosa (01:00:49):
Better than you and I.
Donald Trump (01:00:50):
And getting the ball in the hole is very tough with lots of people watching, right? That's a very tough living. They're champions. I respect champions and I respect very much, and I think the country is very lucky. They really wanted to be here.
Cyril Ramaphosa (01:01:05):
That's true.
Donald Trump (01:01:05):
They could be elsewhere. They could be on a beautiful fairway someplace and they wanted to be here.
Ziyanda Ngcobo (01:01:18):
My name is Ziyanda Ngcobo from Newsroom Africa in South Africa. How important is it for the United States to be at our G-20 summit in November given the relationship between our two countries? You've just heard or what has been said to you just now. Are you coming and are you preparing to come?
Donald Trump (01:01:35):
So without the United States, the G-20, just like the G-seven, used to be the G-8, but brilliantly they threw Russia out, would've been a lot better if Russia was in. A lot of people would say, "Oh, that's sad," Because if Russia was in, you probably wouldn't have this war. And if you had a different president, you wouldn't have the war either. But we have a G-7. It's important that the United States is at both of them. I think without the United States, it's said, I really believe it's not very important. It's not the same meaning
Cyril Ramaphosa (01:02:04):
As I said to President Trump, the US really originated the G-20. And it's important that the United States continues to play a key role in the G-20 and we are privileged to be the president of the G-20, but we are even overjoyed that we are going to hand over to the United States who are the originators. And for that reason, I expect the United States to continue playing the leadership role in the G-20 together with other countries. And I've said, when I initially spoke to President Trump on the phone, I wanted to come to South Africa for a state visit, and I also want you to come and participate in the G-20, and I want to gladly hand over to President Trump to take the leadership of the G-20 forward in November.
Donald Trump (01:03:05):
Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. They don't want to leave you.
Speaker 20 (01:03:21):
Everybody please keep moving. Thank you. Please keep moving. Keep going. Keep going.