Trump and his allies have targeted South Africa, promoting the false narrative that white people are being mistreated by the nation’s post-apartheid government.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has defended South Africa's Expropriation Act, introduced in January, saying that it will "balance the need for public usage of land and the protection of the rights of property owners". Ramaphosa vehemently denied that the policy targets white landowners, as Trump had insinuated.

Trump’s comments waded into a sensitive racial issue and deepened already sharp divisions between the United States and South Africa.