Trump confronts South Africa's president in Oval Office, shows purported evidence of genocide

President Donald Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa engaged in a back-and-forth at the White House over Trump's unfounded claims of "genocide" against white South African farmers.

In a rare scene in the Oval Office, Trump had the lights dimmed to play videos on a TV monitor he said supported his allegations. He then held up what he said were articles of violent attacks against white Afrikaner farmers.

"White South Africans are fleeing because of the violence and the racist laws," Trump said.

Ramaphosa pushed back, saying the clips of speeches played by the administration is "not government policy."

The South African leader said it would take Trump "listening to the voices of South Africans" to change his view.

"I would say if there was Afrikaner farmer genocide, I can bet you these three gentlemen would not be here, including my minister of agriculture. He would not be with me. So it'll take him, President Trump, listening to their stories, to their perspective. That is the answer to your question," Ramaphosa said.

Elon Musk, a South African native and a top adviser to the president during his second term, has also been vocal about the plight of South African landowners, amplifying claims of "white genocide."

Musk was present for Ramaphosa's visit to the White House. He was seen standing behind a couch and did not speak during the exchange between Ramaphosa and Trump.

The dozens of Afrikaners who arrived in the U.S. last week had their applications fast-tracked under an executive order issued by Trump in February titled, "Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa."

The order contends the South African government passed a law allowing it to "seize ethnic minority Afrikaners' agricultural property without compensation" in a "shocking disregard of its' citizen rights." It instructs that the U.S. will not provide aid or assistance to the nation, and that the U.S. "promote the resettlement of Afrikaner refugees."

The law passed by South Africa cited by the administration aims to address land injustices established during apartheid. It states land can be expropriated in the public interest and in most cases must be subject to compensation, the amount of which must have been agreed to by the owners or approved by court. Experts say the law is comparable to similar legislation around the world regarding eminent domain.

In addition to Trump's executive order, his administration expelled South Africa's Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool from the U.S. earlier this year.

Trump has been scrutinized for prioritizing Afrikaners while moving to restrict immigration from elsewhere, including from Afghanistan, Venezuela and Haiti.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was asked to defend the administration's position while testifying before a Senate panel on Tuesday.

"I think those 49 people that came strongly felt they were persecuted, and they passed every sort of check mark that needed to be checked off," Rubio said. "The president identified it as a problem and wanted to use it as an example."

Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia said he believed the claim there is persecution of Afrikaner farmers was "completely specious" and noted the U.S. hadn't let in Black South Africans during apartheid.

"I think that the United States has a right to allow into this country and prioritize the allowance of who they want to allow it come in," Rubio responded.

Ramaphosa on Tuesday projected optimism about the upcoming talks with Trump.

"We're always ready and we hope to have really good discussions with President Trump and his fellow government colleagues. Looking forward to a really good and positive meeting, and we're looking forward to a really good outcome for our country, for our people, for the jobs in our country and good trade relations," Ramaphosa told reporters as he arrived at the South African Embassy in Washington.

He said trade is the "the most important, that is what has brought us here" and that they want to strengthen economic ties between the two nations in a video posted to X. Ramaphosa also said he and Trump will discuss Israel as well as Russia and Ukraine.

Ramaphosa didn't mention the United States' prioritization of the resettlement of white South African refugees in the videos posted to social media, though he vowed to protect South Africa's sovereignty.

"We will always do what is best for South Africans," he said.

ABC News' Shannon Kingston contributed to this report.