U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to cut off aid to South Africa over a land law that Trump claims the country is using to confiscate land.
“South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people very badly,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “The United States won’t stand for it, we will act. Also, I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!”
Trump appeared to be referring to a recent South African law allowing the government to take land without compensation in rare cases. South Africa’s government said this measure is aimed at “ending racial disparities in land ownership in the postapartheid era,” according to the Washington Post.
“Why do you have openly racist ownership laws?” wrote Trump ally Elon Musk, who is from South Africa.
In response, Cyril Ramaphosa, president of South Africa, denied these claims, and stated that “the recently adopted Expropriation Act is not a confiscation instrument, but a constitutionally mandated legal process that ensures public access to land in an equitable and just manner as guided by the constitution.” He also said he looks forward to working with the Trump administration and that the United States is a “key strategic partner.”
During Trump’s first term, he asserted that there were “large scale” killings of white farmers in South Africa. The United States earmarked some $440 million in South African aid in 2023, according to Reuters and recent U.S. government data.
