Saturday’s New York Times included a mild headline, “Trump, Claiming Bias Against Afrikaners, Punishes South Africa.” But the text itself wasn’t nearly so reasonable, falsely accusing Donald Trump and Elon Musk of spreading a “conspiracy theory” (a favorite liberal smear against conservatives) for relaying actual news about a disturbing new law in South Africa.
With aid to South Africa at stake and (gasp!) resettlement of white refugees to America a possibility, reporters Michael Shear and John Eligon tamped down the controversy.
President Trump on Friday ordered that all foreign assistance to South Africa be halted and said his administration would prioritize the resettling of white, “Afrikaner refugees” into the United States because of what he called actions by the country’s government that “racially disfavored landowners.”
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“South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY,” the president wrote in the post...
The order was stunning in providing official American backing to long-held conspiracy theories about the mistreatment of white South Africans in the post-apartheid era.
Mr. Trump has made repeated claims without evidence that echoed those conspiracy theories. In 2018, he ordered his secretary of state to look into “the large scale killing of farmers” -- a claim disputed by official figures and the country’s biggest farmers’ group.
But in a sneaky bait and switch, the reporters passively admitted Trump was not just ranting about something from 2018, but discussing a newly enshrined South African land confiscation policy.
Mr. Trump’s recent comments were in reference to a policy that President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa signed into law last month.
Shear and Eligon breezed over the taking of land without compensation (something the hypocritical New York Times editorial page notoriously supports in America as well, at least when it’s in the company’s business interests).
The law, known as the Expropriation Act, repeals an apartheid-era law and allows the government in certain instances to acquire privately held land in the public interest without paying compensation -- something that can be done only after a justification process subject to judicial review.
The usual liberal two-step was applied here: It’s a “conspiracy theory” to say something that makes the left look bad is happening – and then: It is happening, and it’s a good thing!
In much of South Africa, Mr. Trump’s attacks in recent days inspired a rare bit of political unity, with leftist, centrist and even some far-right activists all saying that the American president’s characterization of the land transfer law was wrong.
His comments amplified a long-held grievance among some white South Africans who claim they have been discriminated against by the Black-led government after apartheid. But Mr. Trump’s comments also angered many South Africans, who saw the law as a necessary means of redressing historical injustice.
The Times made sure to poison the labeling well -- supporters of Trump’s statements are “far right” whites.
A previous story from Eligon alone with a headier headline (“South Africa Fires Back at Trump’s False Claim of Land Seizures”) made the same noises about “conspiracy theories” and “false narratives.”
He accused Musk of having “pushed some of those conspiracy theories.” Pro tip: If it’s true, it’s not a “conspiracy theory.” Perhaps Eligon thinks Musk and Trump are exaggerating the scope of the dispossession, but not even he can deny the plain meaning of the new law, though Eligon tried his best to make it sound like a moderate proposal, hand-waving away any concerns.
….The law that Mr. Ramaphosa signed does allow for land to be taken without compensation, but analysts say there are many checks and balances in place to prevent abuse. The most likely application, analysts say, will be to take land that is not in use. Many of the country’s most staunch land redistribution activists argue that the law does not go far enough.
