‘Voetsek’: Presidency responds to Ramaphosa ‘clapback’ at Trump
· The South African
The official X account of the South African government has rubbished a viral screenshot of President Ramaphosa’s “clapback” at President Donald Trump.
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The widely circulated image has been deemed “fake news”.
SA GOVERNMENT SAYS PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA ‘CLAP BACK’ IS FAKE NEWS
On social media channels, what appeared to be a fiery clap back by President Cyril Ramaphosa to his US counterpart, Donald Trump, went viral
In a screenshot, the US President supposedly tweeted from his X account: “South Africa is a total failed state”. Under the tweet was a response from an X account belonging to “Cyril Ramaphosa”, that read: “Hey f*kkoff! VOETSEK”.
The SA Government X account quickly rubbished the AI-generated image, deeming it “fake news”
FAKE NEWS! #Misinformation pic.twitter.com/f1eaiRdMRJ
— South African Government (@GovernmentZA) March 30, 2026
In the comments section, many South Africans were amused….
We stand with fake news in this difficult time 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/st7HagVJfR
— King 👑🇿🇦 (@KingBaloyii) March 30, 2026
Mara I don’t see nothing wrong there because it’s the truth pic.twitter.com/UTUNSdr2ql
— 🎀Gretchy🎀 (@Gretchen_Ndou) March 30, 2026
@CyrilRamaphosa I wish you did a real thing 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/Np8Hf2NWsQ
— Mosh🇿🇦 (@_DJMosh) March 30, 2026
But deep down we are there pic.twitter.com/6FrBEYB6Uy
— ManOfTheMatch (@R_mashesha32) March 30, 2026
WHAT TRUMP HAS SAID ABOUT SOUTH AFRICA
While US President Donald Trump did not tweet about South Africa, as seen in the viral screenshot, he has been vocal about his condemnation of South African government, whom he has accused of “racial persecution” and promoting a “white genocide”.
During an Oval Office meeting with President Ramaphosa last year, Trump made the following controversial statements…
“People are fleeing South Africa for their own safety.”
“They’re being executed, and they happen to be white.”
“There is a genocide taking place.”
“White farmers are being brutally killed.”
“And then when they [black people] take the land, they kill the white farmer. And when they kill the white farmer, nothing happens to them”
“South Africa has demonstrated to the world they are not a country worthy of membership anywhere.”
‘HE IS SO INFORMED’
President Ramaphosa has dismissed much of what President Trump has said as disinformation.
He told The Guardian earlier this month: “He [Trump] is so uninformed, truly uninformed. He is looking at South Africa through a completely foggy lens”.
Ramaphosa also responded to France’s decision to withdraw its G7 invitation to South Africa, seemingly under pressure from the US administration.
The 73-year-old downplayed the sequence of events.
He told media outlets: “The invitation to the G7 does not mean that you’re being snubbed if you’re not invited or you’re being ignored.
“My information is that there has been no pressure from any country, the US or any other country. We haven’t attended every G7, so if we don’t go to this one it should never be a surprise to anyone.”