Several times this week I found myself being reminded of that old saying attributed to, but apparently never said by, Mark Twain: “Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”
It popped into my head after US President Donald Trump accused South Africa of “confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people very badly”.
Writing on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said: “I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!”
He later told journalists that South Africa’s “leadership is doing some terrible things, horrible things”.
“So that’s under investigation right now. We’ll make a determination, and until such time as we find out what South Africa is doing — they’re taking away land and confiscating land, and actually they’re doing things that are perhaps far worse than that.”
I scrutinised Trump’s statements for signs of statesmanship, leadership, intelligence and forward-planning. I looked for facts to grab and have a proper argument with. There was none of these things. The truth that many of us are too afraid to confront is that we are faced with a superpower whose leader is unable to think dispassionately, cogently, methodically or scientifically.
As the fallout from Trump’s remarks spread through the markets, damaging South Africa’s reputation and losing the country millions in cash and goodwill, I kept asking myself how one engages with Trump’s diatribes.
First, what are the facts that one is “debating” with Trump in this case? The man has clearly not engaged with any facts, hence the blanket statement that the “leadership is doing some terrible things, horrible things”.
What leadership? The leadership of the GNU, which is made up of leaders from 10 different parties? Do these terrible leaders include those of the Freedom Front Plus and the DA? Do they include Gayton McKenzie of the Patriotic Alliance?
We are not told, but I assume Trump is referring to the leaders of the ANC. If he is, then why doesn’t he just say the name “Cyril Ramaphosa”? To be honest, I don’t think he even knows where South Africa is on the world map or who Ramaphosa is.
After this nonspecific and fact-free accusation we were then given a peek into the logic-free mind of Trump. Here we are shown that one does not start with an investigation, follow up with analysis, reach a conclusion, and then decide. No, in the world of Trump, you are guilty until you prove yourself innocent. He charges: “I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!”
Er, ahem, what’s the point of the investigation if you have already made up your mind and meted out “punishment”? Why bother?
There is a reason why The Wall Street Journal said in an editorial this week that Trump’s tariff moves are “the dumbest trade war in history”.
What we are not saying here is that the leader of the free world ranted about South Africa not after reading a serious briefing document from his embassy in Pretoria. He did not read an intelligence report from any of his agencies. He did not listen to an expert. This is a man who picks up on gossip, whose ear is open to apartheid apologists who see the new South Africa as all bad with no shred of good, and who out of the blue just spews whatever latest barroom tittle-tattle there is.
There is a reason why The Wall Street Journal said in an editorial this week that Trump’s tariff moves are “the dumbest trade war in history”. He acts without a thought for the consequences of his actions.
After threatening and signing tariffs on Canada and Mexico, he backed down this week. This after years of making threats of imposing tariffs on virtually everyone, everywhere. He has now threatened his allies in Europe with the same tariffs. Let’s see how that works out.
What now? South Africa should brace itself for unwarranted future attacks by Trump and some in his cabinet. Given that Trump has the likes of Elon Musk and other right-wing conservatives whispering in his ear, the road ahead will be full of illogical, emotional, spur-of-the-moment attacks similar to what we saw on Sunday. Do not expect it to make sense.
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