President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa is scheduled to meet with President Trump at the White House on Wednesday for crucial discussions, despite Trump’s recent accusations that South Africa is “out of control” and engaged in genocide.

While returning from the Persian Gulf region on Air Force One, Trump reiterated his claims of white Afrikaner South African farmers being murdered and forced off their land. The Afrikaners are primarily descendants of Dutch settlers who arrived in South Africa in 1652.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio amplified these concerns on CBS Sunday, stating that “all evidence [indicates] the farmers in South Africa are being treated brutally.”

Last week, approximately 50 Afrikaners were brought to the U.S. as refugees, with Rubio indicating “more to come.” The South African government, led by President Ramaphosa, denies accusations of genocide and harassment.

The meeting raises questions of whether Ramaphosa will face a harsh reprimand similar to that of Ukraine’s president, who was reportedly ejected from the White House after a heated exchange with Trump in February.

Analyst Frans Cronje from the Yorktown Foundation for Freedom told Digital that “The meeting is set to occur at a time when the relationship between the two countries has soured to unprecedented lows.”

Max Meizlish, a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, stated to Digital that South Africa is “hosting Hamas and Hezbollah, doing business with Iran’s IRGC, prosecuting Israel at the ICJ and cozying up to Beijing and Moscow. These choices have consequences.”

Meizlish added that South Africa has “attracted the ire of the president and key members of Congress, who play significant roles in shaping the future of U.S.-South African relations. Unfortunately, and his colleagues in the ANC do not appear to fully appreciate this fact. President Trump should insist on meaningful change and be ready to back his demands up with tools like targeted sanctions and tariffs.”

However, former U.S. diplomat J. Brooks Spector, now Associate Editor at Daily Maverick, told Digital that the meeting is unlikely to be confrontational from the South African side. “Ramaphosa has a long track record of careful negotiating with adversaries.”

“He doesn’t raise his voice, even when others become heated. I’ve seen this firsthand. In a smoke-filled room in 1990 in South Africa’s dusty Free State, I watched Ramaphosa, then a leader of a black miners’ union, sometimes even smile as he quietly and successfully calmed down [the] often-shouting white miners accused of killing black colleagues underground and got the murders stopped.”

Spector added, “It is almost certain Ramaphosa and his team have closely studied the way three recent prior meetings with Trump have gone – those with , Starmer (the United Kingdom) and Carney (Canada) – in an effort to draw lessons about how to present their best face. He will not make neophyte negotiation mistakes.”

Cronje told Digital that Ramaphosa and his country are in dire need of U.S. support.

“At home, Mr Ramaphosa is presiding over economic stagnation, with South Africa facing a rate of economic growth estimated at just over 1% together with an unemployment rate of over 30%. Mr. Ramaphosa will, therefore, be under great pressure to secure a deal.”

Approximately 600 U.S. companies operate in South Africa. Ramaphosa has brought four key ministers to Washington, hoping to propose new agreements, particularly regarding natural gas, minerals, and agricultural product sales to the U.S., and potentially the approval of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet system in South Africa.

Cronje highlighted the military aspect for the U.S. to consider: “South Africa commands the southern sea route between the Indian and Atlantic oceans, which is an important trade and naval choke point.”

Meizlish added that South Africa “holds vast mineral wealth and could anchor U.S. investment in Africa, but that doesn’t mean we should turn a blind eye to its alignment with America’s enemies.” 

South Africa’s , told Digital that South Africa could “easily withdraw” its ICJ case against Israel if it chose to, noting that “opinion polls show that there is very little domestic support for his (Ramaphosa’s) anti-Israel stance, with most holding positive views towards Israel, sharing the same conservative Christian values that deeply resonate with Mr. Trump’s support base in the U.S.”

Meizlish stated, “This visit can’t be about optics or deals that fail to address the root of South Africa’s malign foreign policy. Trump needs to push Ramaphosa to make substantive, structural reforms in his country’s foreign policy while also creating pathways for greater U.S. investment. It can’t just be one or the other.”

As South African officials lobbied extensively in Washington on Tuesday, advocating for a focus on trade, Rubio told senators during a hearing that a reset in relations could be possible.

“If there’s a willingness on their side to reset relations, obviously [that’s] something we’ll explore, but we do so with eyes wide open to what they’ve done so far,” he said.

Digital contacted the South African government for comment but received no response.

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