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# Trump springs a trap – Ramaphosa stays cool
- URL: https://www.europeans.today/2025/05/22/trump-springs-a-trap-ramaphosa-stays-cool/
- Published: 2025-05-22T00:02:00.000Z
- Updated: 2025-05-29T22:36:48.000Z
- Description: Trump ambushed Ramaphosa with false claims, but the South African leader calmly deflected with facts... even suggesting golf. | Today’s Political Cartoon.
- Author: TODAY's Cartoons
- Tags: Today's Cartoon, TODAY+

In an Oval Office meeting on Wednesday, President Donald Trump confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with unfounded claims of a “white genocide” in South Africa, presenting manipulated media to support his assertions.

The encounter appeared to be a deliberate ambush, a choreographed onslaught orchestrated by Trump and his team to put Ramaphosa on the defensive.

Despite the unexpected confrontation, Ramaphosa maintained remarkable composure. Calmly and firmly, he countered Trump’s allegations with factual data, underscoring South Africa’s commitment to unity, reconciliation, and the accurate depiction of its socio-political climate.

Rather than engaging in Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric, Ramaphosa sought to redirect the conversation toward constructive topics, highlighting opportunities for strengthened trade relationships and diplomatic collaboration.

To diffuse the tension further, Ramaphosa even proposed a friendly game of golf, subtly acknowledging Trump’s well-known fondness for the sport, as a diplomatic gesture to smooth over the evident strain in the dialogue.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/15/40/1540bec0-7154-4feb-b8e1-97f579155b08/content/images/2025/05/0000264-min-3.jpg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/15/40/1540bec0-7154-4feb-b8e1-97f579155b08/content/images/2021/09/end-flat-1.png) 

### **GOING FURTHER**

- ###### [Ramaphosa keeps cool during Trump's choreographed onslaught](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c753rlw4430o?ref=europeans.today) | BBC NEWS
- ###### [Donald Trump ambushes South African president at White House meeting by playing video alleging 'genocide'](https://news.sky.com/story/trump-ambushes-south-african-president-by-playing-videos-alleging-genocide-in-south-africa-13372206?ref=europeans.today) | SKY NEWS
- ###### [Fact-checking Trump's Oval Office confrontation with Ramaphosa](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce9vxve994ro?ref=europeans.today) | BBC NEWS

  
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### **Sources:**

##### ▪ This piece was first published in Europeans TODAY.   

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