South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with Donald Trump in the White House, Washington, D.C., May 21, 2025 (Eric Lee/New York Times)

EA on BBC: Israeli Embassy Staff Murdered in Washington

UPDATE, MAY 23:

I joined South Africa’s SAfm on Thursday to summarize and analyze Donald Trump’s ambush of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the White House.

We discuss Trump’s motives and disinformation, Ramaphosa’s response, and the effect on South Africa’s priority of trade and tariffs.

At the end of February, when Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky was ambushed in the White House, it was primarily by Vice President J.D. Vance. I am not even sure Trump was in on it, although he followed Vance’s lead.

What happened Wednesday was orchestrated. It was not only Trump but Trump’s advisors who set this up. The Trump Administration weren’t there to engage in meaningful talks but to tear South Afrcia down as a country.

ORIGINAL ENTRY, MAY 22: I joined Dublin NewsTalk’s Pat Kenny Show on Thursday to analyze the Trump Administration’s attack on South Africa and Israel’s plan for long-term occupation, possibly with forced transfer of the population, of Gaza.

Listen from 12:38:

I begin with the orchestrated ambush of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the White House on Wednesday. I describe the conspiracy theory, disinformation, and racism. I evaluate the Administration’s motives and assess the damage to US interests across Africa.

For months the Trump Administration and Trumpist activists have been on this propaganda campaign about “it’s whites who are discriminated against in South Africa”, “it’s whites who are the victims of violences”, going as far as to declare “white genocide”.

The open question here is, “What purpose does that campaign serve?”….

This race-baiting, which has been used for many years by Trump supporters in the US, such as the conspiracy of “replacement theory”, is now being used abroad in places such as South Africa.

Then I explain and critique Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the nation, setting out the plan for open-ended war with rejection of any ceasefire, the control of all of Gaza through “military zones”, and embrace of Donald Trump’s “beautiful plan” for the relocation — described by some as ethnic cleansing — of Gazans.