RW Johnson: Trump didn’t fire any real bullets at Cyril; that’s for lieutenants behind closed doors

South Africa’s top political analyst, former Oxford Don RW Johnson, provides a realistic assessment of yesterday’s meeting between US President Donald Trump and his SA counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa, who gets kudos for keeping his cool. But Johnson says it’s far too soon to call the Washington adventure a success - and shares what to look out for when those who attended return home..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..Watch here:.Listen here:.Highlights from the interview.South Africans with even a passing interest in politics were glued to their screens this week as President Cyril Ramaphosa stepped into one of the world’s most iconic rooms - the Oval Office - for a highly publicised meeting with former US President Donald Trump. Framed as a diplomatic overture to reset relations with Washington, the event instead played out more like political theatre for domestic consumption, with optics trumping substance in almost every respect.BizNews columnist and veteran political analyst, R.W. Johnson, offered his trenchant take on the unusual 44-minute encounter, calling it “a bit like watching an argument in a kindergarten.” For Johnson, the encounter lacked depth, avoided uncomfortable truths, and ultimately squandered a rare opportunity to strengthen South Africa’s economic case on the world stage..Trump, farmers, and a familiar script.The most striking moment of the encounter came when Trump, true to form, seized the narrative and steered the conversation toward the issue of white South African farmers. Relying on dramatic visuals - including a field of crosses representing murdered farmers - Trump challenged Ramaphosa on the perceived lack of government action, even playing a clip of Julius Malema chanting “kill the farmer.”Ramaphosa, seemingly caught off-guard, responded with what Johnson dubbed his “I am shocked” voice - an admission that he had never seen the footage before. For a sitting president, Johnson noted, this lack of awareness was troubling. “That’s not a good thing for a president of a country to say,” he said, adding that the issue - however selectively framed - was deftly used by Trump to score points with his conservative base.Despite the provocative nature of the exchange, Johnson acknowledged that Ramaphosa handled himself with composure and kept his cool throughout - something that could not be said for other members of the South African delegation..Stealing the show, missing the moment.Key figures in Ramaphosa’s delegation, including Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen, fared less well. According to Johnson, Steenhuisen’s references to the “Union Buildings” and “justice cluster” were confusing and tone-deaf in front of an American audience unfamiliar with South African government jargon. “He really wasn’t thinking who he was talking to,” Johnson remarked.Ironically, it was the sporting guests - two ageing South African golfers - and billionaire businessman Johann Rupert who appeared more composed. Rupert, who reportedly helped secure the meeting, gave what Johnson described as a “strong performance,” and his presence alongside white South Africans may have been a deliberate optic strategy by Ramaphosa to counter the narrative of white victimhood.Still, the entire event felt oddly superficial. “It’s the Donald Trump show,” Johnson quipped. “He loves attention. He likes being every diplomatic, because it is a chance for him to sit there and opine in front of the cameras.”.Read more:.BN Briefing - Cyril's take: President Trump will attend G20 in SA, our meeting was a great success.A stage, not a strategy.Beneath the pageantry lies a harsher truth: the meeting failed to address any of the substantive issues troubling the US–South Africa relationship. Key concerns like South Africa’s ties to Hamas and Hezbollah, its pro-Iran foreign policy stance, the treatment of Israel, or even the contentious issue of BEE-related investment hurdles like those that kept Elon Musk’s Starlink out of the country - none of these were seriously engaged.And yet, that very absence may be why the meeting was considered a success by some. “They got away lightly,” Johnson said. “Trump could have gone hard on South Africa’s foreign minister calling Hamas after October 7th, or on the new racial laws passed under the ANC.”Instead, Trump stuck to the familiar terrain of race and farmer murders, giving the South African delegation a chance to sidestep more explosive topics. But as Johnson observed, “if they want to progress this relationship, they’ve got to sit down and talk about a whole lot of things: Iran, Hamas, investment rules, BEE, Starlink...”.Missed economic opportunity.While the meeting was framed by South African officials as a chance to repair relations and open doors for economic investment, that goal remains unrealised. Alec Hogg, reflecting on the lack of business advocacy, noted: “You don’t get into the White House too often… Here you could make a case for investment. But you did none of that.”Johnson agreed. “The problem is, Trump is not interested in commercial deals,” he said. Real business will require serious follow-up with the Commerce or State Department, not a television-driven Oval Office photo op..A lonely foreign policy.Johnson painted a sobering picture of South Africa’s broader diplomatic standing. Once viewed as a darling of the international community, South Africa today finds itself isolated - estranged from old allies like the EU and UK, uncertain in BRICS, and absent from major international policy discussions.“There was even a time we didn’t have an ambassador in Washington. That’s your most important foreign posting and you leave it empty?” Johnson said. “That’s really incompetent.”.Verdict: A moment passed.The Ramaphosa-Trump meeting may have made headlines, but it didn’t move the needle. For Johnson, the event was more about staging than statesmanship, more for American primetime than African prosperity. Whether real diplomatic work is being done behind closed doors remains to be seen. Until then, South Africa’s relationship with its most powerful potential ally hangs in the balance.“Trump has already moved on to the next thing,” Johnson concluded. “What matters now is what happens after the cameras stop rolling.”

RW Johnson: Trump didn’t fire any real bullets at Cyril; that’s for lieutenants behind closed doors

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