South Africa’s Presidential spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, told ABC News President Cyril Ramaphosa “expected” to be confronted with a “show” from President Donald Trump on Wednesday.
“It was expected. We knew that whenever heads of states come to the White House, you get a bit of a show,” Magwenya told ABC News at the White House after the public portion of Ramaphosa’s meeting with Trump. The two leaders’ private discussion is still underway.
“You saw how calm President Ramaphosa remained the whole time — that should tell you it didn’t come as a surprise,” Magwenya said. “At no point did he lose his cool – he remained elegant, dignified.”
President Donald Trump meets with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, May 21, 2025.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
Magwenya, who was in the Oval Office meeting, said Ramaphosa wanted to talk to Trump away from the cameras, and was “never going to get into a screaming match with his counterpart.”
He called the “show” that Trump put on “noise” that doesn’t change the fundamentals of the relationship. Magwenya pointed out that South Africa has minerals that the U.S. needs and the country wants to expand its trade with the U.S.
Magwenya called the videos that Trump played “an absolute lie.”
“It’s a poor compilation of old videos. It’s a complete lie,” he added.
–ABC News’ Selina Wang