EFF DISMISSES MOTSEPE’S STATEMENT TO DONALD TRUMP ABOUT AFRICA’S LOVE
Saturday, 25 January 2020 The EFF dismisses Patrice Motsepe’s statement to Donald Trump as selfish, false, driven by greed and utterly regrettable. During a dinner at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Motsepe told Donald Trump that "Africa loves him". These remarks are a gross misrepresentation made in an attempt to pursue his selfish business interests.
Trump’s anti-black racism is well known and well documented. From the accounts of people who worked for him or his companies, to his public statements and campaigns. John O’Donnell, former president of Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City once reported that Trump said “laziness is a trait in blacks. It really is, I believe that. It’s not anything they can control.”
When these remarks were revealed, he tried to deny, but later said in a 1997 Playboy interview that “the stuff O’Donnell wrote about me is probably true.” He ran an openly racist campaign against President Obama regarding his birthplace. Including questioning his academic performance in Colombia and Harvard.
In essence, there is a link between the place of birth and racism, as there is a direct link between black people’s academic performance and racism. In 1989, it was Trump who was at the forefront of what has been characterised as a modernday lynching of four black teenagers and one Latino teenager (the “Central Park Five”) who were accused of attacking and raping a jogger in New York City.
Trump immediately took charge in the case, running an ad in local papers demanding, “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE!”
The convictions of these teenagers were later vacated after they spent 7 to 13 years in prison. Despite DNA evidence that proved their innocence, Trump in October of 2016 said he still believes they are guilty.
In light of all these factors, and many more instances of unrepentant anti-black racism, how can a businessman from Africa honestly say Africa loves Trump?
How can Africa love Trump when its diaspora is at the receiving end of Trump’s hatred? Motsepe’s statement is an insult to the African-Americans who have been directly affected by Trump’s racism. His very rise to power is an inspiration to white supremacists all over the world. Motsepe has no business whatsoever talking about the continent’s love to a racist. His remarks must be dismissed with contempt.
As the EFF we distance the continent and its people, both here and in the diaspora from Motsepe’s love for his master, Donald Trump. Africa demands respect from Trump, and it will never kneel at his feet to beg any existence or even buy his racist face in order to make a single cent.
Statement issued by the Economic Freedom Fighters, 25 January 2020
