Trump ambushes South Africa’s president with video footage in Oval Office

https://www.axios.com/2025/05/21/trump-south-africa-president-video-footage-oval-office

Avery Lotz

President Cyril Ramaphosa meets with President Trump in the Oval Office on May 21. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

In a shocking moment during President Trump‘s meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday, Trump requested that videos be displayed purporting to show evidence of violence against white people in the country.

The big picture: Trump, who cut all foreign assistance to South Africa, has embraced the false accusations of genocide against white South Africans as justification for granting them refugee status in the U.S.

A South African court in February dismissed claims of a “white genocide” as not real.

Driving the news: In a stunning scene reminiscent of the Oval Office showdown with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump asked for the lights to be dimmed before playing the videos.

While Trump watched the video, Ramaphosa looked away, appearing uncomfortable.

At one point, speaking over the video, Trump said the screen was displaying “burial sites.” Ramaphosa inquired where the scene was located, adding, “This I’ve never seen.”

Later on, Trump paged through articles from the “last few days” while repeating, “death, death, death.”

Catch up quick: In the question that preceded the video display, a reporter asked Trump what it would take for him to be convinced there was no genocide in South Africa — an inquiry Ramaphosa answered.

“It will take President Trump listening to the voices of South Africans,” Ramaphosa said.

Trump jumped in, saying there were “thousands of stories” and “documentaries.”

“It has to be responded to,” he said before the footage began.

Context: The video played in the Oval Office featured the voice of Julius Malema, a firebrand politician and leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters, who was ejected from Parliament.

Ramaphosa clarified that the utterances in the footage were not “government policy,” saying, “We have a multiparty democracy in South Africa that allows people to express themselves.”

South Africa’s Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen — who is white — reiterated Ramaphosa’s point, emphasizing that the two people in the video are opposition leaders. He said his party, the Democratic Alliance, chose to join forces with Ramaphosa’s “to keep those people out of power.”

Trump interjected, “You do allow them to take land … and then when they take the land, they kill the white farmer, and when they kill the white farmer, nothing happens to them.”

South Africa recently passed the Expropriation Act, which allows the government to take some land and redistribute it as part of a long-running effort to lessen the racial and economic disparities created by apartheid.

White people make up 7.3% of South Africa’s population and own 72% of the farmland.

Ramaphosa acknowledged there is “criminality” in the country — but said the majority of people killed have been Black people.

Trump claimed the “farmers are not Black” and said, without evidence, that people were being killed “in large numbers” and were decapitated. He repeatedly lashed out at reporters, saying, “The fake news in this country doesn’t talk about that.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Eugene V. Debs & the Pullman Palace Car Co. Strike & Boycott, plus More, in Peace & Justice History for 5/22

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorymay.htm#may22

We See Them, Too…

I See Stupid People by Clay Jones

There should be a test Read on Substack

There should be a test before seeking public office. I understand there’s on-the-job training, but this isn’t Taco Bell.

Even before Kristi Noem was the Director of Homeland Security, she was a governor. No governor in this nation should be as ignorant of the Constitution as Noem displayed yesterday. Don’t we already have too many Jeff Sessions in government? Even college football coaches should know what the three branches are.

Even at Taco Bell, I’m sure you’d eventually get shit-canned if you couldn’t keep track of the difference between a Chalupa and a Gordita. Fuck. Now I want some Taco Bell. Anywhos…

Democratic New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan is considered one of the mildest members of the U.S. Senate. I bet at least a quarter of my blog followers couldn’t name what state she represented until they read the previous sentence. Honestly, I might have fumbled it. Despite being one of the nicest in the Senate, Hassan still scorched Kristi Noem during a hearing yesterday. And Hassan wasn’t even trying. It’s Noem’s fault for not knowing her shit.

Maybe instead of doing photo-ops in front of a Salvadoran prison while wearing a $60,000 Rolex or doing those $200 million taxpayer-funded commercials of her saying, “Thank you, President Trump,” Noem should study up on the Constitution.

Hassan asked Noem a question a simple question. It wasn’t like she asked something difficult, like how many women have accused Donald Trump of rape and sexual assault. You don’t have to be a genius to know the answer either. Hassan didn’t hit her with a Navier-Stokes equation.

The question was: What is habeas corpus? Her answer was more embarrassing than that time Katie Porter asked Ben Carson about REO rates, and he thought she was talking about Oreo cookies. Dammit. Now I want some Oreos.

Noem’s reply was, “Habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country.”

Wrong. Not even close. It’s not even a nice try. If you asked this question as a part of a bar bet, you’d probably get a better answer and still win a beer. Hassan should have made this a bar bet, because at least she would have won a beer. My go-to question in a bar bet is: Name the only American president who was never elected.

Noem got her bachelor’s degree by taking online courses and earning college intern credits from her position as a member of Congress. That’s still better than Sarah Palin.

They say there are no stupid questions, but there are some real dumbass answers. Kristi Noem is a fucking moron.

Habeas corpus is a bedrock constitutional legal principle that safeguards individuals from unlawful imprisonment by enabling them to petition the court to review the legality of their detention. Or the short version, it’s the right to due process. That’s an acceptable answer. It’s an easer answer, and it’s definitely isn’t that Donald Trump doesn’t get to do whatever the fuck he wants.

Noem thought the answer was specific about deportations. It’s not.

After explaining habeas corpus to Noem, Hassan asked her if she supported it. Noem answered wrong again.

Noem said, “Yes, I support habeas corpus,” but she couldn’t stop there. She went on to say, “I also recognize that the President of the United States has the authority under the Constitution to decide if it should be suspended or not.”

Wrong again, Dumbo. That doesn’t even make sense if she believed in her first answer. She thought habeas corpus was the right of the president to deport people, and the Constitution gave him the right to suspend that right. What? It’s not surprising she’s dumb enough to carry $3,000 in her purse, and then to have it stolen right from under her in a cheeseburger restaurant. Shit. Now I want a cheeseburger. Anyways.

Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution prohibits the suspension of habeas corpus “unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.” That’s not happening. And, the president needs the approval of Congress to suspend habeas corpus.

Trump is violating due process, he’s ignoring court orders, there was another ruling today that he’s violating court orders, he has placed a giant image of his face in the capital which surprises me that there hasn’t been a sudden rash of car crashes in the city, he’s taking bribes, and Kristi Noem is a puppy killer.

I believe that if you gave a citizenship test to assholes like Trump, JD Vance, Stephen Miller, Marco Rubio, Kristi Noem, or any of the other idiots in this regime, they would all flunk.

If you have to take a test to be a citizen of this nation, then there should be a test for people who want to represent the citizens of this nation.

These tests are not difficult unless you’re a MAGAt dumbass.

Creative note: I’m kinda going through a fit this week with ideas. No, it’s not writer’s block, but too many subjects. I have several subjects I believe are nearly equal in importance, but I don’t have enough days. And no, I don’t want to draw several cartoons a day. When you draw too many cartoons a day, they will start to look like you drew too many. I can burn out.

I went with this one today because it’s timely, funny, I really liked it, and I’ll take almost any opportunity not to draw Trump.

I used five layers in Procreate to draw this cartoon. I hate using lots of layers while other cartoonists love them.

Music note:

Drawn in 30 Seconds: (snip-go see it)

It’s A Literate Insult Fest!

Open Windows

If it was 1933 by Ann Telnaes

A recent book release claims a cover-up of President Biden’s cognitive decline Read on Substack

I’d like to see someone write a book about how two capable, intelligent women (one a former vice president) running for president are defeated by an aging, narcissistic, wannabe autocrat with clear signs of dementia. That’s what I’d like to read.

I almost died of sepsis without insurance. Medicaid saves lives like mine. | Opinion

Check out this article from USA TODAY:

I almost died of sepsis without insurance. Medicaid saves lives like mine. | Opinion

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2025/05/22/medicaid-cuts-health-insurance-healthcare-cost-iowa/83755830007/

Best Wishes and Hugs,
Scottie

Again clips from The Majority Report that I feel are important.

Let’s talk about the GOP punishing the poor….

An update on the car situation. Changed the plugs

So as many may have read here we recently took the car to the Ford dealership for an oil change. On the way there the engine light came on. Ron had noticed the car was running rough when first started. I had not noticed as I thought the thing always sounded like it needed a new muffler. But when they took the car back they came and told Ron that it needed a new engine for $10 grand. Ron did not fall for it and after three hours drove it home.

So on Monday Ron called the mechanic that works from his home or will come to yours. He said to bring it over Tuesday morning. I followed Ron over because we did not know how bad the car was and if he might need to keep it. He had six cars in his driveway. He moved one out and had Ron drive our car in its place. He had a tablet that he plugged into the car and it told him everything also he could control the car from it. The dealership wanted $360 to do what he did for free. He showed us how the #1 plug was not firing. That is why it sounded rough. He shut it off and the car smoothed out. I asked if we needed to leave it, and he said no it was a quick and easy fix, replace the plugs. So I left, he and Ron went out to get the plugs. He put them on his account so they would be cheaper and Ron paid for them. So $40 dollars for plugs.

He then put them in and had Ron drive it for 5 to 10 minutes. Put it on the diagnostic on it and it showed all plugs firing. He did say it might foul again and if it did then it was the valve cover gasket that would need to be replaced. So Ron asked how much he owed for the repair and the guy said $80 dollars. Ron was stunned. He had spent hours in the sun doing this for only $80. Ron gave him $100. I figured that was smart. The guy did great by us and took the car right away. We might need him again. Plus the dealership charged us nearly $500 to do the test and change the oil. This driveway mechanic did the diagnosis for free and changed the plugs for $80 plus the $20 tip Ron wanted him to have. Hugs

An update on the engine that the dealership claimed we needed to replace.

So first I thank all of you who read and responded to the post about how the dealership was trying to extort my 70 yr old husband into giving them the car and either buying a $10,000 engine for a 7-year-old car, or trying to force him into buying a set of hybrids they have not been able to sell … the 1.5 hybrid engine which no one wants. I learned a lot from each of you. I am clueless about engines.

A couple of years ago when the dealership smashed the front of our car due to a worker taking it for the butler service that we paid for that touched up the paint and applied a new clear coat, they wanted us to take one of the 1.5 engine hybrids. We wanted to have the same 2.0 engine we had only in the hybrid model. However they had a three-year waiting list for them. They dicked us around for nearly five months with each call telling us how they could put us in one of those stuck on the lot. We did not give in.

So everyone knows how they tried to get Ron to leave the car. I did not realize until today they asked that while Ron was in the service line. The guy took the car information and then told Ron they would gladly take him home he shouldn’t wait. Ron told them he wanted only an oil change so it shouldn’t take much time. They then pulled the thing of making him wait two hours then coming to tell him the engine was blown and needed to be replaced, so they would take him home. Ron at that time told them he drove it in and he would drive it home. I learned today that he told the service rep, “See those windows? They will be iced over and blocked by 8 feet of snow before I leave my car here. Bring it out to me as I am driving it home”.

It still took them an hour to return the car to him. They claimed not to have done anything other than hook the diagnostics thing to it despite Ron telling them not to. They took $100 off the price because Ron told them not to do it, still they charged us $260 for the diagnostic. All they claimed to have done is the oil change and rotate the tires along with checking fluids. It took over three hours.

Which makes what I am going to write next make them even more sinister. So Monday Ron called the guy that fixes cars at his home on his driveway or comes to your home with his fully equipped van. He told Ron to bring it over on the next day, Tuesday morning. We did, I followed Ron to his home. He had six vehicles in his driveway but he moved a car out and put ours in his driveway.

He had a tablet with programs that could diagnose the car issues. He showed us how the cylinders were firing. #2, #3, #4 were firing normally. He shut # 1 off and even I could hear how the car smoothed out. I just never noticed it before. The number 1 plug was not working well, firing only a bit of the time. I got panicked. Then he told us that it looked to him that the car needed the plugs changed. He asked if we noticed smoke or other stuff and we had not.

Ron sent me home and he and the guy went and got the four new plugs. The guy put them on his account so we would get his discount and Ron paid for them. So they were $10 dollars apiece and it cost us around that price. Then he took the plugs out and put the new ones in. Then he checked it on his tablet and showed Ron how all cylinders were firing as they should. He then asked Ron to drive the car around for ten or 15 minutes to see if it was running right.

Ron said the car was running perfectly so he went to pay the guy. Remember Ron bought the plugs at the guy’s discount, so the guy told Ron that all his work over 3 or 4 hours were only costing $80 dollars. Ron bless his heart and I love him doing what I would have done had I been there. He said sorry, but no. You took our car in with only one day’s notice, put it first, worked with us to keep us from all the things the dealership wanted to do to us. You need more than $80 dollars. Ron gave him $100 because the guy wouldn’t accept anything more. But he did say that he was willing to work on our van that has the issue of the lights on the A/C part of the dash not working.

A decent man well worth paying. This is the third time we have used his service, and each time we are stunned by how great he is at repairing the problem and the low cost. The dealership wanted to charge us $360 for doing the diagnostics. This man did it for free with a tablet that showed him everything and he could shut the plugs off with it showing us the difference with the bad plug out of the system. No $360 dollar charge. Our friend James who lived with us and still sends me texts calling me dad … oh how I wish … is having car troubles and Ron is sending him this guy’s information. I think the world is not as dark as I thought a week ago. There are still some people willing to do good in this world of darkness. Hugs