Facing a barrage of debunked claims from U.S. President Donald Trump that white people were being persecuted in his country, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa remained composed, pushed back politely and even tried to joke with Trump.

Mr Ramaphosa kept his cool. But the episode underlined Donald Trump’s warped views of South Africa—and how hard it will be to change them. The Trump administration has cut aid to Africa’s largest economy and seems set to cancel the preferential trade terms enjoyed by South Africa (and many other countries in the continent).

The BBC's Gary O'Donoghue analyses how the South African president reacted in an extraordinary Oval Office meeting.

South Africa's rand was steady for most of Thursday's trading session, as markets tried to digest U.S. President Donald Trump's Oval Office ambush of South African leader Cyril Ramaphosa, which overshadowed the country's budget presentation.

Trump strongly criticized Ramaphosa’s governing of South Africa, claiming there has been a “genocide” of white farmers.

El presidente estadounidense Donald Trump utilizó una reunión en la Casa Blanca para confrontar a su homólogo sudafricano

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa will hold crucial talks at the White House with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday in a high-stakes meeting that could improve or deteriorate already frosty relations between the nations.

South Africans expressed their support on Thursday for their President Cyril Ramaphosa after his confrontation with U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump used a White House meeting to talk about baseless allegations that white farmers in his country were being systematically singled out for persecution and murder.

When the UK’s prime minister Keir Starmer visited the White House in February, he charmed Donald Trump with an invitation from the British King Charles, playing to the president’s notorious vanity. But South Africa doesn’t have quite the same cache of soft power to draw from.