Two of South Africa’s most famous golfers were drawn into a tense Oval Office discussion about race in their country on Wednesday, after President Trump ambushed his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, with videos intended to support his false claim of mass killings of Afrikaners.
The meeting between the two presidents began cordially but quickly deteriorated into a back-and-forth between the presidents about White House claims about the targeted killings of Afrikaners, a white ethnic minority that once led the nation’s apartheid government. Mr. Trump played a video of race-baiting slogans from a firebrand opposition leader and then handed Mr. Ramaphosa a stack of papers that he said were news accounts of killings of “thousands” of Afrikaners.
As Mr. Ramaphosa repeatedly tried to debunk the claims, Mr. Trump dug in. Eventually he turned to the golfers — Ernie Els, the former world No. 1 golfer, and Retief Goosen, a two-time U.S. Open champion — to break the tension.
Mr. Els pulled out his passport as he described himself as a “proud South African,” and then invoked Nelson Mandela’s calls for unity in his country. “I know there was a lot of anger through the transition, there was a lot of stuff happening in the apartheid days,” he said. “We grew in the apartheid era, but I don’t think two wrongs make a right.”
“We really wanted to meet you, meet the administration, and see our way forward, because we still want to see our country flourish,” Mr. Els added.
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Mr. Goosen, similarly prodded to speak by Mr. Trump, shared that his relatives on farms lived behind electric fences in fear of crime, like many other South Africans. “But the guys live a great life, despite what’s going on,” he said.
Mr. Trump, an avid golfer whose golf courses are the backbone of his real estate empire, has been known to invoke analogies from the sport in discussing other matters. And Mr. Ramaphosa — whose country has been at loggerheads with the United States for months, including over the granting of asylum to a group of white South Africans who have claimed they are victims of persecution — added Mr. Els and Mr. Goosen to the delegation as a way of seeking common ground.
“They are South African, they know the truth about our country,” Vincent Magwenya, Mr. Ramaphosa’s spokesman, said in a text message. “They also have a close relationship with President Trump. Therefore, they’ve been vital in assisting with bridging the gap between the reality in South Africa and President’s Trump own view of the country.”
Mr. Els and Mr. Goosen joined the South African delegation alongside the typical assortment of cabinet ministers and other aides. Both men were longtime acquaintances of Mr. Trump; in 2013, the president posted a photograph of himself and Mr. Els to his Facebook page.
As Mr. Trump opened what he said would be “a nice conversation,” he introduced Mr. Ramaphosa and welcomed the golfers in the same breath.
“I really appreciate that you guys came along, it really helps us in our thought process,” Mr. Trump said, adding that he had a lot of friends who lived in South Africa.
“You two guys are fantastic,” Mr. Trump said, naming other prominent golfers. “What a group of golfers South Africa has had.”
Mr. Ramaphosa also presented Mr. Trump with a compendium of South African golf courses, in a book weighing more than 30 pounds and featuring writing by Mr. Els and a billionaire South African businessman, Johann Rupert, who also attended the White House meeting on Wednesday.
Mr. Rupert is the owner of the Swiss luxury house Compagnie Financier Richemont, the parent company of brands that include Cartier and Piaget watches and Montblanc pens.
Mr. Rupert is also South Africa’s richest man and an Afrikaner. Afrikaners are descendants of mainly Dutch settlers who long dominated South Africa’s politics and led during racial apartheid in the 20th century. Mr. Trump has amplified false claims of “genocide” against Afrikaners in the post-apartheid era as a justification for allowing them speedy entry to the United States even as he attacks and seeks to remove immigrants from other countries.
Elon Musk, a native of South Africa and the world’s richest man, who has led the Trump administration’s aggressive efforts to overhaul the federal government, attended the leaders’ appearance before reporters but did not speak.
Mr. Musk has been deeply critical of South Africa’s regulations on Black ownership. Also in attendance was the deputy secretary of state, Christopher Landau, who greeted the first group of white South Africans welcomed as refugees when they arrived in the United States just over a week ago.
Another celebrated South African golfer, Gary Player, who still practices his swing with Mr. Trump, is said to have been among those who influenced the president’s thinking about the treatment of Afrikaners. Mr. Player has denied discussing the issue with Mr. Trump.
Mr. Ramaphosa said Mr. Trump had encouraged him to invite Mr. Player to the meeting too, but that the 89-year-old golf legend had declined to make the trip.
Lynsey Chutel is a Times reporter based in London who covers breaking news in Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
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