Cyril Ramaphosa takes a shot at Donald Trump

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa denounced a shakeup in the global order, delivering a clear rebuke to Donald Trump and his America First policy without mentioning the US president by name.

The world is rapidly changing and has become one in which “narrow self-interest has replaced the common good, a world in which trade is used as an instrument of coercion, a world in which might is right and the powerful impose themselves on the weak,” Ramaphosa said in his state-of-the-nation address to lawmakers in Cape Town on Thursday night. 

In navigating such a world, South Africans must display tolerance, generosity, kindness and solidarity, maintain their “values of dignity and equality,” and defend those facing prejudice and discrimination, Ramaphosa said.

Pretoria and Washington have been at odds since Trump reclaimed the presidency in January last year and set about reshaping US relations with allies and foes alike.

He’s falsely accused South Africa of subjecting White farmers to a genocide, criticized its relations with Iran and Hamas, and slapped a 30% tariff on some of its exports, the highest in sub-Saharan Africa. 

Trump also subjected Ramaphosa to a humiliating dressing down when he visited the White House last year and ordered a US boycott of the Group of 20 summit that was held in Johannesburg in November. 

Ramaphosa has repeatedly stressed that the US remains a key partner for South Africa and his administration continues to seek a mutually beneficially trade deal. 

His latest remarks indicate mounting frustration at Trump’s ongoing animosity and a growing realization that attempts to appease the US leader are unlikely to work, a view that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney articulated last month.