For a deeper dive into the farm murders narrative, see: https://theconversation.com/trumps-afrikaners-are-south-african-opportunists-not-refugees-whats-behind-the-us-move-257017
On Thu, 22 May 2025 at 10:04, Pieter Steenekamp <[email protected]> wrote: > It was a tough day for Ramaphosa yesterday. > Donald Trump appears to have been influenced by far-right narratives about > widespread, politically motivated farm murders in South Africa, > particularly targeting Afrikaners. He seemed to accept that narrative, > which made things tricky. > > Despite this, I’m proud of how the Ramaphosa team handled the situation. > I paid close attention to Trump's body language once the discussion moved > past the farm murder topic, and I believe he was receptive to the points > our team raised. They also held private talks after the public exchanges, > which will likely lead to more focused trade negotiations. Overall, I’m > feeling positive about the outcome. Sure, it could have gone better, but it > certainly wasn’t a disaster—nothing like the Trump/Zelensky fiasco. > > Just a bit of context for my American friends: > The ANC (African National Congress) has governed South Africa since the > advent of democracy. However, in last year’s election, they lost their > majority for the first time, dropping below 50%. This led to the formation > of a Government of National Unity (GNU), though in practice it’s a > coalition between the ANC and the white-led Democratic Alliance (DA), led > by John Steenhuisen—who also participated in last night’s presentation. > > While many Afrikaners (maybe most?) do support the DA, there's also strong > support among them for the right-wing Freedom Front Plus (FF+), which could > be described as South Africa’s version of MAGA. "Maga"-Afrikaners are maybe > the minority of Afrikaners and Afrikaners are a small minority of all in > South Africa, so there is no reasonable possibility of them gaining > significant votes. They also support the rule of law and the I don't expect > trouble from them. Those that influence Trump are even further right-wing > than the FF+. > > In contrast, the DA draws support from a broad cross-section of South > African society, across all racial groups—including a significant number of > urban Black voters. > > Looking ahead: > Recent polls show the DA with a slight lead. While it’s almost certain > they’ll not win an outright majority, they could emerge as the largest > party in the next election. If that happens, they may form a government, > and John Steenhuisen could become president. Maybe I'm day-reaming? > > On Tue, 20 May 2025 at 21:08, steve smith <[email protected]> wrote: > >> 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. >> >> >> >> .- .-.. .-.. / ..-. --- --- - . .-. ... / .- .-. . / .-- .-. --- -. --. / >> ... --- -- . / .- .-. . / ..- ... . ..-. ..- .-.. >> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv >> Fridays 9a-12p Friday St. Johns Cafe / Thursdays 9a-12p Zoom >> https://bit.ly/virtualfriam >> to (un)subscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com >> FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ >> archives: 5/2017 thru present >> https://redfish.com/pipermail/friam_redfish.com/ >> 1/2003 thru 6/2021 http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/ >> >
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