South Africa Furious Over Trump’s ‘White Farmers’ Tweet

South Africa’s government said Thursday that it “totally rejects” the “narrow perception” exhibited by President Trump’s late Wednesday tweet. In his post, Trump wrote that he asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to “closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures” and the “large scale killing of farmers.” Trump pointed to a quote from Fox News that specifically discussed “white farmers.” In response, South Africa’s government said in a tweet that such a viewpoint “only seeks to divide our nation and reminds us of our colonial past.” Khusela Diko, a spokesperson for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, told The Guardian that Trump’s tweet is “misinformed” and that they will “take up the matter through diplomatic channels.” The issue is deeply divisive in South Africa, where 72 percent of land ownership is held by white farmers, though white people make up only 8 percent of the population, according to figures cited by The Guardian.