MSNBC’s Wallace on Trump Hosting South African President: ‘Sitting Inside a Gilded Oval Office, Again Tarnishing America’s Image Around the World’

Wallace: “Today, Donald Trump meeting with the president of South Africa and attempting to ambush and humiliate that leader inside the Oval Office. But what he did instead was embarrass and humiliate the people of the United States of America, again. In his meeting with President Ramaphosa, Trump peddled unsubstantiated claims of genocide in South Africa of white South Africans, a group that ruled during Apartheid in South Africa. It is a fringe conspiracy theory pushed by the likes of Elon Musk, Tucker Carlson and David Duke, the former Grand Wizard of the KKK.”

[Clip starts]

Trump: “We take from many, many locations, if we feel there’s persecution or genocide going on, and we had a lot of people. I must tell you, Mr. President, we have had a tremendous number of people, especially since they’ve seen this. Generally, they’re white farmers and they’re fleeing South Africa, and it’s a very sad thing to see. But I hope we can have an explanation of that. It will be the end of the country if it’s not [inaudible].”

[Clip ends]

Wallace: “So, next, Trump asked his staff to dim the lights and roll in a television. Once the lights were dimmed and the television was there, they played a video that Trump claimed showed evidence of genocide against white farmers. Here’s the reality, as reported by The New York Times: ‘There have been killings of white South Africans, but police statistics show they are not killed at a higher rate than other South Africans. And while the South African government did pass a law permitting the government to take land without compensation, the process is subject to judicial review. President Ramaphosa did his part to fact-check Donald Trump in real time. He added that he didn’t even recognize some of the locations in the video. Here’s what he had to say.”

[Clip starts]

RAMAPHOSA: “Our government policy is completely, completely against what he was saying, even in the parliament. And they’re a small minority party, which is allowed to exist in terms of our constitution.”

Trump: “But you do allow them to take land.”

RAMAPHOSA: “No, no, no, no.”

Trump: “You do allow them to take land.”

RAMAPHOSA: “Nobody can take land.”

Trump: “And then when they take the land, they kill the white farmer. And when they kill the white farmer, nothing happens to them.”

RAMAPHOSA: “No, there is — “

Trump: “Nothing happens.”

RAMAPHOSA: “There is criminality in our country. People who do get killed, unfortunately, through criminal activity, are not only white people.”

[Clip ends]

Wallace: “After all that, the leader of South Africa, South Africa’s president, tried to lighten the mood a little bit. Trump suggested that all of this tension between them could have been avoided if South Africa had just bought him an airplane.”

[Clip starts]

RAMAPHOSA: “I’m sorry, I don’t have a plane to give you.”

Trump: “I wish you did.”

(Laughter)

Trump: “I would take — if your country offered the United States Air Force a plane, I would take it.”

RAMAPHOSA: “Okay.”

[Clip ends]

Wallace: “Well, there you have it. Conspiracy theory-peddling leader of the United States of America sitting inside a gilded Oval Office, again tarnishing America’s image around the world.”