South Africa calls Trump divisive over land reform tweet

The South African government on Thursday accused U.S. President Donald Trump of fueling racially divisive narratives in its country after he said his administration would look into farm seizures and the “large scale killing of farmers” in the country. Trump tweeted Thursday that he has asked U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to “closely study” the land expropriations.

The president’s tweet came after a Wednesday night segment on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News program in which Carlson said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is seizing land from white farmers “because they are the wrong skin color.” The South African government called Trump’s comment misinformed and said its foreign ministry will ask the U.S. Embassy to offer some clarification. “South Africa totally rejects this narrow perception which only seeks to divide our nation and reminds of our colonial past,” the government tweeted.

Land ownership remains a divisive issue in South Africa, with black South Africans, who make up about 80 percent of the country’s population, owning just 4 percent of the country’s land 24 years after the end of white-majority rule, according to the government. The latest uproar came after the government on Aug. 1 said the ruling African National Congress party is seeking to amend the constitution to allow the expropriation of land without compensation. The ANC said the government has not yet seized any land since it announced the proposed reforms.