Trump lectures South African president in televised Oval Office ambush
WASHINGTON – In an astonishing confrontation in the Oval Office on Wednesday, President Donald Trump lectured President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa with false claims about a genocide against white Afrikaner farmers, even dimming the lights to show what he said was video evidence of their persecution.
The meeting had been expected to be tense, given that Trump has suspended all aid to the country and created an exception to his refugee ban for Afrikaners, fast-tracking their path to citizenship even as he keeps thousands of other people out.
But the meeting quickly became a stark demonstration of Trump’s belief that the world has aligned against white people, and that Black people and minorities have received preferential treatment. In the case of South Africa, that belief has ballooned into claims of genocide.
At first, the two leaders seemed to glide over the most contentious issues, focusing instead on golf and a bit of foreign policy. Ramaphosa brought along two South African golfers, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, as guests, in a nod to the American president’s favorite sport.
But the discussions took a turn when a journalist asked what it would take for Trump to change his mind and see there was no “white genocide” in South Africa.
Ramaphosa said: “It will take President Trump listening to the voices of South Africans.”
Trump was ready with his response. “Turn the lights down and just put this on,” he told his aides.
A booming video mash-up began to play, including footage of people calling for violence against white farmers in South Africa.
By the end, with the stunned South African president looking on, Trump began flipping through a stack of papers, apparently showing white victims of violence in South Africa: “Death, death, death,” he said.
Ramaphosa said the video did not show the full picture.
Ga. mother forced to keep brain-dead pregnant daughter alive under law
A pregnant woman in Georgia, who was declared brain-dead, is being kept alive by ventilators due to the state’s law banning abortions, according to her mother. The mother told local news that the family has no say in the matter, as reported by an article from NBC News.
April Newkirk, the woman’s mother, said her 30-year-old daughter, Adriana Smith, began experiencing intense headaches in February. At that time, Smith was nine weeks pregnant with her second child, as reported by NBC affiliate WXIA-TV in Atlanta.
Smith sought treatment at Northside Hospital but was released and given medication, Newkirk told the station. Newkirk said the hospital did not run any tests or scans.
Northside did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
A day after seeking treatment, Smith’s boyfriend woke up to find her gasping for air and making gargling noises, Newkirk told WXIA.
Smith was rushed to Emory Decatur and then transferred to Emory University Hospital, where a CT scan showed multiple blood clots in her brain, the news station reported.
Newkirk told the news station that her daughter was declared brain-dead and has “been breathing through machines for more than 90 days.”
Newkirk declined an interview when contacted by NBC News on Thursday morning.
According to WXIA, the plan is to keep Smith alive until the baby can survive on his own, most likely at 32 weeks.
From staff and wire reports