Washington: US President Donald Trump rejected the lights in the Oval Office Wednesday and made South African President Cyril Ramaphosa the goal of his latest geopolitical bak team for a foreign leader in front of TV cameras.

In an extraordinary scene that is clearly orchestrated by the White House for maximum effect – reminiscent of Ukrainian President Volodymy Zelenskiy’s visit in February – confronted Trump Ramaphosa with false allegations of genocide against South African whites, including allegations of mass murder and land fittings.

It was another view of Trump’s apparent emergency preparedness to use the oval office, historically reserved as an honor of foreign dignitaries, to bother visitors from less powerful nations or keep their feet to the fire on cases he is fixed on.

Trump’s unprecedented use of the presidential setting for such screens could cause foreign leaders to think twice to accept his invitations and risk public humiliation-a reluctance that could make it harder to cement ties with friends and partners who are also corrected by the Arch rival China.

Patrick Gaspard, a former US ambassador to South Africa under President Barack Obama, said Trump had transformed the encounter with Ramaphosa into a “shameful sight” and “saved him with a false snuff film and violent rhetoric”.

“Engaging on Trump’s Terms Never Goes well for anyone,” wrote Gaspard, now a senior mate at the Center for American Progress-Thinking Tank in Washington, in a post about X.

The Oval Office Meeting had been invoiced as a chance to reset strained US -South Africa relations – especially after Trump’s duty imposition – and to push escalating tensions over his unfounded accusations of “white genocide” and offer to reserve white minorities Africans.

After a heartfelt start to the meeting, Trump – a previous reality -TV -star – ordered the lights muted and showed a video and printed articles that claimed to be evidence that white South Africans are being pursued.

Ramaphosa, clearly prepared to address Trump’s accusations, but unlikely to have expected the political theater, were aware and composed as he tried to refute what was presented by his host. But he stopped shortly after directly challenging or criticized an American president with a reputation for being thin -skinned.

“I’m sorry I don’t have a plane to give you,” Ramaphosa asked with a smile, referring to the luxury jet Liner Qatar has offered Trump as a replacement for the Air Force One.

His spokesman Vincent Magwenya told South African TV Company Newzroom Africa that “you could see President Ramaphosa was provoked.”

“You could see he got his eye and he didn’t fall for the trap,” Magwenya said.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for whether the meeting was set up to put Ramaphosa in the hot seat and whether it could deter other foreign leaders from such visits.

Cameron Hudson, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies Think tank in Washington, said that while the TV part of the meeting was a circus, “it never crossed the line to anger or vitriol so it didn’t go out of the rock.”

Zelenskiy – Trump shouting fight

This mood was in stark contrast to Trump’s meeting just a few months ago with Zelenskiy, who developed into a shouting battle involving both the President and Vice President JD Vance.

Zelenskiy, like Ramaphosa, was there to try to cure a gap in the relationship – and in Ukraine’s case, the US military assistance to Kiev in the war against Russia’s invading forces maintains.

But the meeting quickly went out of the rails where Trump accused Zelenskiy of being disrespectful and playing with a potential 2nd World War, and Vance accused that the Ukrainian leader had not shown enough appreciation for US support.

The disputed character of the meeting sent shock waves through the NATO alliance, which supports Ukraine’s match against Russia.

There may have been less at stake at Trump’s meeting on Wednesday with Ramaphosa, but South Africa is an important political and economic player in Africa that counts China as its biggest trading partner, where the United States comes in second.

South Africa-which endured centuries of harsh discrimination against black people under colonialism and apartheid before becoming a multi-party democracy in 1994 under Nelson Mandela rejects Trump’s claims.

Trump’s confrontation seemed tailored to parts of his political base, especially the right and white nationalist segments that have long pushed the tale of a “white genocide” in South Africa.

By showcasing non-verified claims of violence against white farmers and framing land reform as racial persecution, Trump knocked on voice points popular in US right-wing extremist circles.

Since returning to office in January, Trump has canceled assistance, has expelled South Africa’s ambassador and resettled some dependent minority Africans based on racial discrimination requirements, as Pretoria says, are baseless. The program has been divisive as Trump has largely blocked refugee recordings from the rest of the world.

A new South African Land Form Act – aimed at alleviating the injustices of the apartheid – allows for expropriations without compensation when, for example, In the public interest if land lies. No such expropriation has taken place and every order can be challenged in court.

“If anyone doubts that the Zelenskiy incident was not completely stage-controlled by the White House, I think the scales should fall from their eyes,” British foreign commentator Tim Marshall told Times Radio in London.