Oval Office drama notwithstanding, the door to the White House has been opened for SA

We are right to be fixated on what transpired at the Oval Office on Wednesday during the meeting between presidents Cyril Ramaphosa and Donald Trump. It was a grotesque spectacle, with one man, Ramaphosa, behaving like an adult, and another one, well, let’s just say, it was vintage Trump, playing to his gallery with “receipts” of a white genocide. Ramaphosa tried to push back, with some in his delegation sharing their personal experiences of South Africa.

Trump pounced with old footage of some politicians singing “Kill the boer” — a song that should have no place in a democratic South Africa. There were also images of rows of crosses, which he falsely claimed were a burial site for white farmers. BBC Verify reports that those were not graves, but a temporary memorial for a white couple that was murdered in KwaZulu-Natal in 2020.

Trump then launched into a deranged handout of gory pictures, one of which was found by numerous international news agencies to be of women killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was dramatic, effective, but untrue.

It is worth noting that by and large, international mainstream media, from France to Britain, the US and Europe, have been scathing and critical of Trump, with The Guardian’s David Smith describing him as a “Bond villain startling guests with noxious gas”.

Yet, in South Africa, commentary seems to be skewed towards a perception that Ramaphosa and Team SA did “not do so well”. I am not sure how well one can do against someone who is belligerent and has home-ground advantage. And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s humiliation would have been top of Ramaphosa’s mind. He could have pushed more with a brief but firm reference on stats and data, but overall, his calm disposition demonstrated some self-mastery.

What else happened? Top on Ramaphosa’s list was to get Trump to participate in the G20 Heads of State Summit in Johannesburg in November, which South Africa chairs. The Trump administration has publicly boycotted the 2025 G20. Ramaphosa did not even have to introduce the topic. After greeting his audience, Trump said, “We have the G20 coming to South Africa…” Ramaphosa did not miss the opportunity, using flattery to remind Trump: “You originated the G20.”

Of course, it was started by the US in 1999, but for Trump, hearing the personal “you” would be a turn-on.  Ramaphosa piled on the charm, “Of course, I then hand over to you…” With a possessive tone, Trump interjected: “We have it next year…”

A little later and behind the scenes, in the Cabinet Room, it was a different universe. We are told laughter, jokes and a cordial environment prevailed. Even Elon Musk behaved like a normal human being and not a child suffering from a sugar rush. The two sides discussed a reasonable Starlink offering which does not entail South Africa subverting its transformation agenda.

The Trump team was reminded that the law constrains the government and there would be time-consuming losses should any non-compliant deal be challenged in the courts, which was almost a certainty. My source says “they understood”, and Trump reportedly encouraged everyone to “make it work”.

Musk, I am told, spoke collaboratively, but most of the dialogue was held between the two presidents, with Trump deferring to his commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick and Lutnick’s South African counterpart, Parks Tau.

Agoa

South Africa approached the talks with a pragmatic acceptance that the Agoa trade programme had been nullified by the US’s reciprocal tariffs on everyone.

“There was no begging but an offer to reset, as we are the US’s largest trading partner in Africa.” At home, threats that “South Africa will lose Agoa” must now be adapted to an acceptance that Agoa is gone, and not for the reasons that they thought it would be.

The biggest surprise for South Africa was Trump’s nonchalant attitude to the International Court of Justice case that SA brought against Israel. For months, it was understood that this was the main reason for the US’s wrath against South Africa.

However, in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump said, “I don’t know … they’ve got a case … there is a lot of anger … we’ll have a ruling and who knows…” That was it. It was hardly mentioned in the Cabinet Room. South Africa’s relationships with Iran, China and Russia did not come up in the way it was feared. After his Oscar-winning Oval Office performance to his base, behind closed doors, Trump was a “jovial and perfect host”.

Three sources — two from South Africa and one from the US — told me: “Sorry. There was no drama.” Another said, “It was important that the commerce secretary be given space to interact with Tau without the political noise.” I asked another, “Were you happy?” I got a thumbs-up and some happy emojis.

Each side will now go back to thrash out the minutiae of the trade deal. For now, the door to the White House is opened. DM