World leaders risk Trump ‘smackdowns’

US President Donald Trump turned down the lights in the Oval Office on Wednesday and made South African President Cyril Ramaphosa the target of his latest geopolitical ambush of a foreign leader in front of television cameras.

In an extraordinary scene clearly orchestrated by the White House for maximum effect and reminiscent of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's visit in February, Trump confronted Ramaphosa with false claims of genocide against South African whites, including allegations of mass killings and land seizures.

It was another display of Trump's apparent readiness to use the Oval Office, historically reserved as a place of honor for foreign dignitaries, to embarrass visitors from less-powerful nations or hold their feet to the fire on matters he is fixated upon.

Trump's unprecedented use of the presidential setting for such displays could prompt foreign leaders to think twice about accepting his invitations and risk public humiliation, a reluctance that could make it harder to cement ties with friends and partners that are also being courted by archrival China.

Patrick Gaspard, a former US ambassador to South Africa under President Barack Obama, said Trump had turned the meeting with Ramaphosa into a "shameful spectacle" and "savaged him with some fake snuff film and violent rhetoric."

"Engaging on Trump’s terms never goes well for anyone," Gaspard, now a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress think-tank in Washington, wrote in a post on X. The Oval Office meeting had been billed as a chance to reset strained relations between the U.S. and South Africa, especially after Trump's imposition of tariffs, and to defuse escalating tensions over his unfounded accusations of "white genocide" and offer to resettle white minority Afrikaners.

After a cordial start to the meeting, Trump, a former reality TV star, ordered the lights dimmed and showed a video and printed articles purporting to be evidence that white South Africans are being persecuted.

Ramaphosa, clearly prepared to counter Trump's accusations but unlikely to have expected the political theater, was attentive and composed as he sought to refute what was presented by his host, but he stopped short of directly challenging or criticizing a U.S. president with a reputation for being thin-skinned. “I’m sorry I don’t have a plane to give you,” Ramaphosa quipped with a smile, referring to the luxury jetliner Qatar has offered Trump as a replacement for Air Force One.

His spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told South African broadcaster Newzroom Afrika that "you could see President Ramaphosa was being provoked."

Trump’s humiliation of his visitors means world leaders now must consider how they will come across to their electorates back home. If they fail to stand up to Trump, they will look weak. If they push back hard, they might damage their national interests.

In February, Jordan's King Abdullah looked uncomfortable as Trump pressed him to accept refugees from Gaza.

After he was kicked out of the White House for reacting angrily to JD Vance’s demands for gratitude, Zelenskyy spent weeks making amends.

UK PM Starmer was a successful visitor as he deftly pulled out a letter from King Charles inviting Trump for a state visit.

French president Macron stood firm, laying his hand on Trumps’s wrist when he falsely claimed Europe would get back aid it has poured into Ukraine.

No foreign leader faced as much domestic pressure in the Oval Office as Canadian PM Carney. “Some places are never for sale,” he told Trump.