South African farmers are welcome in US, says Trump

Donald Trump has offered a fast path to citizenship for South African farmers, after cutting aid to the country over what he termed "unjust racial discrimination" against Afrikaners.

- RACHEL CLUN

The US president railed on his Truth Social platform against South Africa's new laws, which give the government the power to take land from people without compensation in some cases.

“South Africa is being terrible, plus, to long time Farmers in the country. They are confiscating their LAND and FARMS, and MUCH WORSE THAN THAT. A bad place to be right now, and we are stopping all Federal Funding,” he wrote. “To go a step further, 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. This process will begin immediately!”

His comments came after a US directive that “all bureaus, offices and missions shall pause all obligations and/or dispersion of aid or assistance to South Africa”. It followed Mr Trump’s executive order to cut aid to South Africa for “rights violations” and for its decision to bring a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, in which it accuses the country of genocide over its treatment of the Palestinian people.