Trump Lectures South African President in Televised Oval Office Confrontation

In an astonishing confrontation in the Oval Office on Wednesday, President Trump lectured President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa with false claims about a genocide against white Afrikaner farmers, even dimming the lights to show what he said was video evidence of their persecution.

The meeting had been expected to be tense, given that Mr. Trump has suspended all aid to the country and created an exception to his refugee ban for Afrikaners, fast-tracking their path to citizenship even as he keeps thousands of other people out.

But the meeting quickly became a stark demonstration of Mr. Trump’s belief that the world has aligned against white people, and that Black people and minorities have received preferential treatment. In the case of South Africa, that belief has ballooned into claims of genocide.

At first, the two leaders seemed to glide over the most contentious issues, focusing instead on golf and a bit of foreign policy. Mr. Ramaphosa brought along two South African golfers, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, as guests, in a nod to the American president’s favorite sport.

But the discussions took a turn when a journalist asked what it would take for Mr. Trump to change his mind and see there was no “white genocide” in South Africa.

Mr. Ramaphosa, answering for the president, said: “It will take President Trump listening to the voices of South Africans.”