Pieter Steenekamp wrote:
South Africa eagerly awaits President Cyril Ramaphosa’s upcoming meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, a significant diplomatic breakthrough. An insightful article from Daily Maverick highlights how Ramaphosa achieved this feat through influential connections and a strategic approach that resonated with Trump. The article explains that Ramaphosa’s success is a major diplomatic victory, overcoming months of intense and damaging criticism from Trump. Traditional diplomatic efforts had failed, with Washington largely ignoring South Africa’s outreach. Despite persistent attempts by South African government, diplomatic, and business delegations, access to Trump remained blocked. On Capitol Hill, sources noted that South Africa underestimated the depth of hostility. Even allies sympathetic to South Africa’s anti-apartheid history were cautious about aligning with a nation facing unprecedented scrutiny from Trump. The article points out that South Africa endured more targeted executive orders and coordinated attacks than even U.S. adversaries like Iran, Cuba, and China. Tensions had been brewing before Trump’s election, with discussions of potential sanctions already underway. Source: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-05-19-ramaphosas-trump-meeting-is-a-diplomatic-coup/
I had no idea how much of the "refugee" story had a backstory of Trump's (typical) /bully first, negotiate later/ style.
Thanks for the DM link...I do always enjoy local media perspectives on faraway places... something you used to only encounter when you visited or maybe someone visited you and brought a newspaper (or more rarely a recording of local radio).
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-05-19-the-other-side-of-the-afrikaner-refugee-coin-americans-who-live-work-love-in-south-africa/There were numerous references in this one article alone which exposed me to my own mis-assumptions. I was aware of the BRICS alignment but did not realize that Zuid-Afrika has taken a strong political position against Israel's actions (genocide) against Palestine, for example.
I haven't done the research but I'd guess there is one or more "opposition" news outlets there which offer contrasting opinions.
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