3 w. ago Whatever happened to Elon Musk? Tech boss drifts to margins of Trump world

The president’s billionaire backer was ever-present at the start of Trump’s term but is now pulling back from politics – and Republicans want to keep it that wayThe Oval Office was crowded, with reporters cautioned not to collide with the Resolute Desk. Standing beside them, dressed in black, was Elon Musk, billionaire ally of Donald Trump and head of his government efficiency drive.“Elon is from South Africa – I don’t want to get Elon involved,” the US president told his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, during a discussion about crime against white farmers. “He actually came here on a different subject: sending rockets to Mars. He likes that better.” Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago South Africa’s president praised for ‘calm demeanour’ during Trump meeting

In an Oval Office encounter in which the US president made false claims of ‘white genocide’, Cyril Ramaphosa kept his coolTrump’s ‘white genocide’ claims ignore the reality of life and crime in South AfricaMany South Africans praised their president Cyril Ramaphosa for staying calm when Donald Trump ambushed him in the Oval Office with a video purporting to back up his false claims of a “genocide” against white Afrikaner farmers.Others asked why Ramaphosa, who brought ministers, golfers and a billionaire with him, chose to walk into what he knew was likely to be a trap. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Trump’s evidence of South Africa ‘white genocide’ contains images from Democratic Republic of Congo

Other images displayed by Trump during meeting with South African president Cyril Ramaphosa were false or misleadingThe evidence of supposed mass killings of white South Africans presented by Donald Trump in a tense White House meeting on Wednesday were in some cases images from the Democratic Republic of Congo, while footage shown during the meeting was falsely portrayed as depicting “burial sites”.“These are all white farmers that are being buried,” said Trump, holding up a print-out of an article accompanied by a picture during the contentious Oval Office meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Watch Trump and South Africa’s president in tense exchange during Oval Office ambush

Donald Trump confronted South Africa’s president over unsubstantiated claims of genocide against white farmers in South Africa in a tense Oval Office exchange on Wednesday (21 May).

Politics

4 w. ago South African political party reacts to Donald Trump's 'white genocide' claim rejected by President Ramaphosa by issuing statement: 'Kill the Boer, kill the farmer!'

The words come from a chant referring to white farmers, which is rooted in the anti-apartheid struggle and has been defended by campaigners as a metaphor.

Politics

4 w. ago Trump uses photos from wrong country as evidence of ‘white genocide’ in South Africa

Trump appeared to mistake an article about violence in the DRC for the ‘burial sites of white farmers’ in South Africa

Politics

4 w. ago Voices: I never thought I’d want to join the Cyril Ramaphosa fan club – until I saw him take on Trump

There were two heads of state in the Oval Office, writes Simon Walters – but only one statesman

Politics

4 w. ago Trump confronted South African president with ‘evidence’ of genocide – here’s what the video really showed

The president claimed he was showing footage of a mass ‘burial site’ of over a thousand slain white farmers in an off-the-rails Oval Office meeting on Wednesday. It was actually just a memorial service

Politics

4 w. ago Trump attacks South Africa’s Ramaphosa over alleged targeting of white farmers

US president brandishes printed media reports of what he claims are murdered farmers in Oval Office exchange

Events

4 w. ago Trump makes baseless claim white farmers are ‘executed’ as meeting with South Africa’s president turns chaotic

Cyril Ramaphosa responds ‘they are not’ after US president surprises him with footage he claims supports allegations of white genocideA federal judge has rejected a bid by the US treasury department to cancel a union contract covering tens of thousands of IRS staff, Reuters reports, in an early blow to Donald Trump’s efforts to eliminate collective bargaining rights for many federal workers.US district judge Danny Reeves in Lexington, Kentucky, said in a written opinion late on Tuesday that the department lacked legal standing to bring a lawsuit against the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU). Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Trump attacks South Africa’s Ramaphosa over targeting of white farmers

US president brandishes printed media reports of murdered farmers in extraordinary Oval Office exchange

Events