John Eligon

Hmm. Traditionally, a pretty useful gateway to Donald Trump's brain.

Hmm. Traditionally, a pretty useful gateway to Donald Trump's brain.

The president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, has begun... Tucker Carlson essentially ran a segment saying Afrikaners are having their land taken. that they are victims of reverse discrimination.

The president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, has begun... Tucker Carlson essentially ran a segment saying Afrikaners are having their land taken. that they are victims of reverse discrimination.

And that they are the ones who are being persecuted.

And that they are the ones who are being persecuted.

And sure enough, just hours after Tucker ran that program on his Fox News show, President Trump tweeted about Afrikaners. And in his tweet, he said he was ordering the then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to investigate the mass killings of Afrikaners and the seizure of their land. So these were sort of the two big talking points.

And sure enough, just hours after Tucker ran that program on his Fox News show, President Trump tweeted about Afrikaners. And in his tweet, he said he was ordering the then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to investigate the mass killings of Afrikaners and the seizure of their land. So these were sort of the two big talking points.

that had formed the basis of Afrikaner lobbying to say we're a persecuted people, that we're getting killed on our land and we're getting it taken away from us. And now suddenly, the most powerful man in the world was endorsing those two theories. And if you think about it, this is the perfect thing to capture Trump's eye. Because if we look at his ascendancy to the presidency,

that had formed the basis of Afrikaner lobbying to say we're a persecuted people, that we're getting killed on our land and we're getting it taken away from us. And now suddenly, the most powerful man in the world was endorsing those two theories. And if you think about it, this is the perfect thing to capture Trump's eye. Because if we look at his ascendancy to the presidency,

Part of his whole pitch was to be this president who would ensure that the forgotten white man would be taken care of, right? That we would fight back against sort of this demographic shift, these demographic changes, these brown people coming into our country and invading our borders. And so...

Part of his whole pitch was to be this president who would ensure that the forgotten white man would be taken care of, right? That we would fight back against sort of this demographic shift, these demographic changes, these brown people coming into our country and invading our borders. And so...

Trump's presidency and his whole political identity has always had an element that has really spoken to the folks all around the world who embrace these sort of theories, these feelings that white people are under threat. And so here he had an example. South Africa could now be the example that he points to and says, like, this is what could come for us here in America.

Trump's presidency and his whole political identity has always had an element that has really spoken to the folks all around the world who embrace these sort of theories, these feelings that white people are under threat. And so here he had an example. South Africa could now be the example that he points to and says, like, this is what could come for us here in America.

John, once Donald Trump picks up on the story of the Afrikaners, and once he begins to see them as a potential cautionary tale for white people in the United States, what does he end up doing about it?

John, once Donald Trump picks up on the story of the Afrikaners, and once he begins to see them as a potential cautionary tale for white people in the United States, what does he end up doing about it?

Well, nothing happened in that first term, to be frank, as was the case often in his first term. He had sort of the more savvy operators around him who were able to sort of rein in his impulses. But... As we know, he got back into office in 2025, started his second term.

Well, nothing happened in that first term, to be frank, as was the case often in his first term. He had sort of the more savvy operators around him who were able to sort of rein in his impulses. But... As we know, he got back into office in 2025, started his second term.

And shortly after he came into office, the president of South Africa, he signed into law a bill that would essentially allow the government to take privately held land without providing compensation to the owners. And as you can imagine, this a lot of Afrikaners see as a way that the government will directly be able to target their land and take it from them.

And shortly after he came into office, the president of South Africa, he signed into law a bill that would essentially allow the government to take privately held land without providing compensation to the owners. And as you can imagine, this a lot of Afrikaners see as a way that the government will directly be able to target their land and take it from them.