How Trump's pledge to punish South Africa reflects Musk's criticism of his homeland
U.S. President Donald Trump says he will cut all funding to South Africa over what he called a massive human rights violation
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said he will cut all funding to South Africa over what he called a human rights violation, a move that reflects Elon Musk's repeated and false claims over the years that authorities in his country of birth are anti-white and even encouraging the killing of white people.
Trump said on Sunday that “terrible things are happening in South Africa. The leadership is doing some terrible things, horrible things” without providing specifics. He said “they're taking away land, they're confiscating land, and actually they're doing things that are perhaps far worse than that.”
While it wasn't clear exactly what Trump was referring to, he appeared to be referencing a new law in South Africa that gives the government powers in some instances to expropriate land from people.
Musk, a close Trump ally and head of Trump's new Department of Government Efficiency, has highlighted that law in recent social media posts and cast it as a threat to South Africa's white minority.
Many South Africans viewed Trump's sudden pledge to punish America's biggest trade partner in Africa as surprising and at least partly influenced by billionaire Tesla owner Musk, who was born in the South African capital of Pretoria but left for Canada after he completed high school.
The Expropriation Act was signed into law by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa last month and allows the government to take land in specific instances where it is not being used, or where it would be in the public interest if it is redistributed.
It aims to address some of the
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