'How can Africa love Trump when its diaspora is at the receiving end of his hatred?': EFF

The EFF has trashed billionaire Patrice Motsepe's statement to US president Donald Trump, telling him  “Africa loves him”.

Motsepe, in a viral video, told Trump: “Africa loves America. Africa loves you. It's very, very important. We want America to do well. We want you to do well. The success of America is the success of the rest of the world.”

Trump was thankful for Motsepe's words, but the EFF said the statement was “selfish, false, driven by greed and utterly regrettable”.

The party said Motsepe's remarks were a “gross misrepresentation made in an attempt to pursue his selfish business interests”.

“Trump’s anti-black racism is well known and well documented. From the accounts of people who worked for him or his companies to his public statements and campaigns.

“He ran an openly racist campaign against President (Barack) Obama regarding his birthplace, including questioning his academic performance in Colombia and Harvard,” said the EFF.

The party also pointed out that Trump was at the “forefront” of what was characterised as a “modern-day lynching” of the Central Park Five, a group of five black boys who were wrongfully accused of attacking and raping a jogger in New York City in 1990.

“How can Africa love Trump when its diaspora is at the receiving end of Trump’s hatred? Motsepe’s statement is an insult to the African-Americans who have been directly affected by Trump’s racism.

“His very rise to power is an inspiration to white supremacists all over the world. Motsepe has no business whatsoever talking about the continent’s love to a racist. His remarks must be dismissed with contempt.”