Trump’s False Claims of Wrongful Land Confiscations and Genocide were Used to Usher White Afrikaners to the Front of the Line for Political Asylum and U.S. Citizenship
- Donald V. Watkins
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
By: Donald V. Watkins
Copyrighted and Published on May 18, 2025
An Editorial Opinion
Every statement Donald Trump makes as president must be fact-checked because his reputation for truth and veracity is extremely poor.
Fact-checking has debunked 100 false claims from Trump’s first 100 days in office during his second term. During his first term in office, Trump made 30,573 false or misleading claims as president.
Trump's Claims About Wrongful Land Confiscations and Genocide Against White South Africans are False.
Starting on February 7, 2025, Trump has claimed that white South Africans farmers were the "victims" of wrongful land confiscations and genocide in their country. Both claims are false.
Yet, Trump used these false claims to usher a group of white South Africans (Afrikaners) to the front of the line of all refugees who were/are seeking entry into the U.S. and an award of citizenship.
The New York Times reported 225 people were killed on South African farms over a four-year period ending in 2024. These killing occurred during the commission of ordinary crimes. Of those deaths, 101 were Black current or former workers living on farms, and 53 were farmers, who are usually white. Trump has characterized the deaths of these 53 white Afrikaners as "genocide."
Contrary to Trump's claims, the South African government has not confiscated any land from Afrikaners.
According to a May 16, 2025, report issued by FactCheck.org, Trump’s claims that Afrikaners are the "victims" of wrongful land confiscations and genocide are false. The findings below, which have been independently verified by our news media team, are taken from the FactCheck report.
Trump Has Prioritized the Entry of Afrikaner Refugees into the U.S.
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump suspended all refugee admissions to the U.S. until such time as bringing in new refugees “aligns with the interests of the United States.”
Then, on Feb. 7, 2025, Trump issued an Executive Order making an exception for Afrikaner refugees. The Order called Afrikaners “victims of unjust racial discrimination” and said “the United States shall promote the resettlement of Afrikaner refugees escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination, including racially discriminatory property confiscation.”
The “property confiscation” part refers to a law signed by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in January that will allow the government to confiscate land, in some cases without compensation. While “just and equitable” compensation must be paid to owners whose land is confiscated in most cases, under the law, there are limited circumstances under which confiscation could take place without compensation. Those circumstances include cases “where the land is not being used and the owner’s main purpose is not to develop the land or use it to generate income, but to benefit from appreciation of its market value”; when land is not being used “for its core functions”; and “where an owner has abandoned the land by failing to exercise control over it despite being reasonably capable of doing so.”
Ramaphosa defended the law on X, saying, “South Africa is a constitutional democracy that is deeply rooted in the rule of law, justice and equality. The South African government has not confiscated any land. 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.”
On X, billionaire Elon Musk, whose family reaped huge financial benefits from South Africa’s brutally enforced system of racial apartheid and who is a close Trump adviser, condemned the policy as “openly racist ownership laws.” On Truth Social, Trump concurred, saying, “South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY.”
Trump Revels in Serving as the Global Champion for White Privilege.
On May 12, the first 59 Afrikaner refugees arrived in Americaand were openly welcomed into the U.S. Unlike true refugees who must escape dangerous conditions and endure perilous journeys to reach America, the Afrikaners departed South Africa without any hassle aboard a comfortable chartered flight.
When Trump was asked by a reporter during a May 12, 2025, press conference why he was welcoming Afrikaners to the U.S. as refugees, he said there was “a genocide that’s taking place” against white farmers in South Africa. "Because they’re being killed and we don’t want to see people be killed,” Trump said.
During the press conference, Trump was also asked why the U.S. had expedited Afrikaner refugee admissions, “as you’ve halted virtually all refugee admissions for people fleeing famine and war from countries like Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
Trump said the Afrikaners were being accepted as refugees on an expedited basis “because they’re being killed.” He said the U.S. “essentially extended citizenship to those people to escape from that violence and come here.”
“It’s a genocide that’s taking place that you people don’t want to write about,” Trump continued. “But it’s a terrible thing that’s taking place. And farmers are being killed. They happen to be white, but whether they’re white or Black, it makes no difference to me, but white farmers are being brutally killed and their land is being confiscated in South Africa and the newspapers and the media, television media doesn’t even talk about it. If it were the other way around, they’d talk about it. That would be the only story they’d talk about.”
In stark contrast to his profound concern for perceived "genocide" against Afrikaners, Trump has NEVER acknowledged or condemned Israel's campaign of genocide and war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza. This genocide, which has killed over 53,200 innocent Palestinian men, women, and children, is documented in a U.S. Department of State report and arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court.
Likewise, Trump has NEVER expedited asylum requests and refugee status for migrants of color fleeing gang violence and death in South American countries or war in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Epilogue
Based upon the record established by FactCheck.org, Trump's claim of genocide against white Afrikaners is false.
Trump's claim of wrongful confiscations of land owned by white Afrikaners is false.
Lastly, Trump’s Refugee Plan for white South Africans constitutes a deliberate, overt, and purposeful presidential act of conferring white privilege upon Afrikaner refugees, based upon their white skin-color and ethnicity.
For what it is worth, there is no record of Donald Trump, as a private citizen and businessman during the apartheid years, ever opposing South African apartheid during its existence (1948-1994).