WATCH | The Fox News report on 'racist' SA that inspired Trump's land tweet
Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package. South Africa woke up on Thursday morning to a tweet from US President Donald Trump wading in on the land expropriation debate.
In it, Trump asked his Secretary of State to look closely at “the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriations and large-scale killing of farmers.”
I have asked Secretary of State @SecPompeo to closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriations and the large scale killing of farmers. “South African Government is now seizing land from white farmers.” @TuckerCarlson @FoxNews
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 23, 2018
The tweet appears to have been inspired by an 'exclusive investigation' on American broadcaster Fox News about farm seizures in South Africa.
"The president of South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa has begun seizing land from his own citizens without compensation because they are the wrong skin colour. That is literally the definition of racism," journalist Tucker Carlson starts the broadcast by saying, going on to label the South African government 'racist' and land expropriation 'immoral'.
The government hit back with its own tweet, rejecting the "narrow perception which only seeks to divide our nation".
South Africa totally rejects this narrow perception which only seeks to divide our nation and reminds us of our colonial past. #landexpropriation @realDonaldTrump @PresidencyZA
— South African Government (@GovernmentZA) August 23, 2018
South Africans came out guns blazing on Twitter after US president Donald Trump sent out a tweet early on Thursday August 23 2018 claiming that white farmers were being murdered for their land in South Africa.
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Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.