South Africa's dealmaker faces Trump's drama

It might sound improbable in light of the bizarre encounter that unfolded in the Oval Office on Wednesday, but President Donald Trump and Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa's president, actually have quite a few things in common.

- Lydia Polgreen

Both are lavishly wealthy business tycoons who coveted, then achieved, rather late in life, the highest office in their land. Both share a taste for the refined leisure of the moneyed global elite — golf for Mr Trump, fly fishing for Mr Ramaphosa.

But most importantly, both built their formidable reputations on a knack for making deals. In Mr Trump's case, this usually involved real estate — hotels, casinos, luxury condominiums. Mr Ramaphosa, for his part, was central to one of the most celebrated deals of the 20th century — he was the lead negotiator in the talks that brought an end to apartheid in South Africa.

Mr Ramaphosa and his party, the African National Congress, achieved this remarkable feat in no small part through his uncommon knack for finding common ground and a willingness to make hard choices and big sacrifices to achieve peace with a sworn enemy. Sure, Nelson Mandela and FW de Klerk, leaders of their respective parties, got the Nobel Peace Prize. But Mr Ramaphosa, relentless and charming in equal measure, played a critical role in getting the deal over the finish line.

So it is perhaps not surprising that Mr Ramaphosa, a debonair statesman who does not lack confidence in his abilities, thought he could bring his considerable talents to the Oval Office and at least begin the process of making some kind of deal with the man who thinks of himself as the king of deals. Instead, Mr Trump hijacked the meeting to focus on a racist fantasy of white South Africans suffering genocide at the hands of a black majority. As spectacle, it was grimly riveting. As statecraft, it was deeply damaging.