The Citizen (Gauteng)

Trump doesn’t care about you

US leader’s Twitter rant about land and farm killings is aimed not at South Africa, but his own supporters.

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Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the ANC found themselves singing from the same hymn sheet, when the EFF commander-in-chief slammed US President Donald Trump’s views on the land situation in SA, warning him to stay out of our domestic affairs.

At a media briefing yesterday, during which the EFF leader sought to clarify the party’s policy on land, Julius Malema warned people not to play “public opinion games” with the land issue, singling out US President Donald Trump.

Malema was in full flow as he declared: “We must put it on record, unequivoca­lly … Donald ‘the pathologic­al liar’ Trump, we are not scared of you and your USA or Western imperialis­t forces.”

“We are warning you, do not play public opinion games with the land question. It is an emotive issue in which people’s dignity is at stake. Our people’s hopes cannot be subjected to a contest on public opinion,” he said.

“We want to send a strong message to the USA authoritie­s, just like we did to the Australian authoritie­s. Stay out of South Africa’s domestic affairs,” he continued.

Early yesterday morning, US President Donald Trump took to Twitter, saying that he plans to “closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriat­ions and the large-scale killing of farmers”.

Malema is not the first EFF leader today to react to Trump’s tweet.

Earlier, the party’s second-in-command, Floyd Shivambu, had taken to Twitter to voice his disapprova­l of Trump.

The deputy president of SA’s third biggest party took exception to Trump’s tweet, replying that land expropriat­ion in South Africa would happen “whether he [Trump] likes it or not”.

“That’s madness and highest form of foolishnes­s by a racist bigot, who lacks the basic intelligen­ce to understand anything. South Africa will never be intimidate­d by global racists who believe in lies,” Shivambu retorted on Twitter.

 ?? Picture: AFP ?? Donald Trump.
Picture: AFP Donald Trump.
 ?? Picture: AFP ?? ‘IMPERIALIS­T’. US President Donald Trump is a ‘pathologic­al liar’, EFF leader Julius Malema said yesterday.
Picture: AFP ‘IMPERIALIS­T’. US President Donald Trump is a ‘pathologic­al liar’, EFF leader Julius Malema said yesterday.

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