Former President Donald Trump on Friday extended an invitation to South African farmers to move to the United States, repeating his assertion that the South African government is “confiscating” land from white owners. Alongside the offer of a “rapid pathway to Citizenship,” Trump announced that US federal funding to South Africa would be suspended.
Posting on his Truth Social platform, Trump declared:
“Any Farmer (with family!) from South Africa, seeking to flee that country for reasons of safety, will be invited into the United States of America with a rapid pathway to Citizenship.”
He described South Africa as a “bad place to be right now” and said the suspension of US aid to Pretoria would take effect immediately.
Trump and the South African government have been at odds over a newly signed law related to land expropriation—one that Trump believes will result in white-owned farms being taken without compensation. The South African Presidency responded with a statement rejecting what it called “counterproductive megaphone diplomacy.”
In February, Trump criticized South Africa’s land expropriation legislation, claiming it allowed the government to seize “ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation.” The law states that in certain instances, the government may offer “nil compensation” when property is appropriated in the public interest.
South Africa was governed by English and Afrikaner colonists under the apartheid system until 1994, during which the black majority was systematically denied political and economic power. The new law is aimed at addressing historical land ownership disparities—decades after the end of apartheid, white South Africans still own most farmland.
Yet, Trump characterized the country as “terrible” for long-time farmers. Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa has said he wishes to reach agreements with the US on diplomatic and trade issues, indicating that South Africa plans to send a delegation to Washington in pursuit of a “meaningful deal.”
Ramaphosa, who previously described his first phone call with Trump as “wonderful,” acknowledged relations went “off the rails” at some point. He has maintained that any resolution must come through constructive engagement, rather than public hostility.
Although many Trump supporters applauded the former president’s announcement, not everyone was in agreement. Far-right commentator Laura Loomer warned about increasing immigration without first boosting deportation figures, posting on X that more arrivals could hinder efforts to address existing immigration concerns.
