South Africa’s President to Challenge Trump on Afrikaner Refugees

South Africa has been a focus of President Trump’s criticism in his second term.

Mr. Trump has made debunked claims that white farmers in South Africa are being killed in a genocide. On May 12, Mr. Trump welcomed some of those farmers into the United States as refugees. He has also expelled South Africa’s ambassador to the United States and has cut off American aid.

South Africa will get its chance to directly rebut what it says is Mr. Trump’s misinformation with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s scheduled visit to the White House on Wednesday.

Mr. Ramaphosa faces the political challenge of standing firm on his country’s principles without angering Mr. Trump. America is South Africa’s second-largest trading partner, but government officials say that many of their policies that upset Mr. Trump are necessary to undo the racial inequality created during apartheid.

Mr. Ramaphosa is expected to try to convince Mr. Trump that the United States has a lot to gain from maintaining close ties with South Africa, the largest economy in Africa. The South African president will also try to reset his relationship with Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa and is perhaps the leader’s loudest critic.

Here are the key issues the two leaders will confront:

• Afrikaner refugees
• Elon Musk
• Israel and the war in Gaza
• A new trade deal

Afrikaner refugees

South African officials have disputed Mr. Trump’s assertion that Afrikaners, a white ethnic minority that created and led the apartheid regime, are being persecuted and killed at home.