During a recent White House briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt took a reporter to task for questioning the authenticity of a recent video showing targeted violence against white farmers in South Africa. The incident comes on the heels of a heated conversation between President Donald Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office.
This is yet another battle in the larger conflict raging between mainstream media outlets and the Trump administration. President Trump has made it clear since taking office in January that he will not tolerate bias in the media. He’s proven his point by booting the Associated Press from briefings and meetings due to their reportedly biased reporting.
Leavitt slammed NBC News reporter Yamiche Alcindor for alluding to the video not being real, going on to make the case that the media often downplays threats faced by white South Africans. She then spoke of the commitment the Trump administration has made to shining a spotlight on human rights issues, regardless of the victims’ race.
“During Thursday’s briefing, NBC News reporter Yamiche Alcindor pointed out to Leavitt that a video Trump forced South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to watch during their meeting did not, as the president claimed, show a “burial” site for South African farmers, but instead depicted white crosses meant to represent slain farmers,” The Independent reported.
“Alcindor attempted to point out that the dozens of crosses displayed in the video shown at the White House were actually in honor of one slain couple, and were not representative of a real number of killings. Leavitt wasn’t having it,” it continued.
“It’s unsubstantiated that that’s the case,” Alcindor said to Leavitt during the briefing.
The administration’s stance has sparked major debates concerning South African land reform policies. Many of these seek to address historical injustices concerning the redistribution of land without payment. Critics of the policies point out that they are having a disproportionate impact on white farmers.
As a result, economic instability has ensued, along with potential human rights violations. Ramaphosa and many other South African officials have denied systemic targeting of white farmers. However, Trump responded by slashing aid to South Africa and offering refugee status to individuals who have been negatively affected by the policies.
