Earlier this month, Trump confirmed he was about to receive something no other U.S. president has—a decked-out Boeing 747-8 jet gifted by the royal family of Qatar, often described as a “palace in the sky.”
The announcement drew heat from both sides of the aisle, with critics raising concerns that the extravagant gift might violate the Constitution and be seen as a bribe from a foreign government.
And now, it looks like the move hasn’t gone unnoticed overseas either. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa took a moment to throw some shade at the jet during a pretty intense sit-down on May 21.
The two met in the Oval Office, where Trump launched into an odd tirade packed with debunked conspiracy claims, insisting white farmers in South Africa were being targeted in a genocide.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t have a plane to give you.” he said. Trump responded: “I wish you did. I would take it.”
“If your country offered the United States Air Force a plane, I would take it.”
One Redditor put it plainly: “That’s a really disturbing way of saying ‘I can be bought. America can be bought. I wish you could afford to buy me’.”
Someone else added: “This is actually a truly ‘mask off’ moment… Disgusting and I hope the MAGA nuts see how wrong this is.”
To make things even stranger, he dimmed the lights and played a protest song from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), which includes lyrics about killing farmers.
The video also featured images of white crosses, alluding to alleged murders of white South African farmers.
Ramaphosa wasn’t having it. He clarified that while the EFF song is controversial, South Africa’s courts had ruled it isn’t meant to be taken literally and shouldn’t be banned.
“We are completely opposed to that.” he explained, emphasizing his administration does not support those messages at all.
During the meeting, businessman Johann Rupert stepped in, saying that although crime is a serious problem, it’s affecting everyone.
Meanwhile, local farmers attending the country’s largest agricultural expo dismissed any claims of targeted violence against white landowners—something the courts have also backed up.
Still, Trump keeps pushing that story, teaming up with South African-born Elon Musk and even going as far as offering refugee status to more than 50 white South Africans.
