On Saturday, hundreds of white South Africans, predominantly from the Afrikaner community, gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria to voice their support for former U.S. President Donald Trump and express their discontent with the South African government’s policies, which they argue disproportionately affect the white minority. The protesters held signs reading “Thank God for President Trump” and chanted slogans condemning what they perceive as racial discrimination against them by the current South African government.
Willem Petzer, a key organizer of the protest, addressed the crowd, emphasizing the community’s desire to maintain positive relations with the West, despite the South African government’s recent policy shifts. Petzer stated, “We just want to say to America and to the West, despite the foreign policy decisions the South African government has made over the past two decades, the West still has a friend here in South Africa.”
A significant number of the demonstrators were from the Afrikaner community, who felt specifically impacted by recent changes in South Africa’s laws and foreign policies. These policies, they claim, have led to the alienation of white South Africans from both political and economic opportunities. Trump’s executive order, signed earlier this year, which sought to reduce aid to the South African government, had drawn international attention to their plight.
Heinrich Steinhausen, a protester and long-time South African resident, voiced his frustrations with the state of the country, saying, “Unfortunately, the truth of the last 30 years is that we have a divided country, where government policies have positioned South Africa as a fractured nation, corrupting the concept of peace and reconciliation.” Steinhausen’s remarks reflect concerns over the perceived failures in post-apartheid reconciliation, and he added that government policies have only exacerbated divisions between racial groups.
In response to the protests, the South African government dismissed the protesters’ claims. A spokesperson for the government refuted the idea that recent legal reforms were racially motivated, accusing Trump of spreading misinformation and distorting the country’s efforts to address historical inequalities. The government has maintained that their laws are aimed at promoting equality and redressing past injustices, not discriminating against any racial group.
While the protest has gained traction among South Africa’s white minority, the government’s stance remains clear in rejecting any notion of racial bias in their legal framework. The tensions around issues of race and land reform in South Africa continue to be a divisive issue, not only domestically but also on the international stage.
