Weaponizing Racial Fear: Trump, Musk, and the Politics of White Panic
Donald Trump and Elon Musk have repeatedly claimed that Black South Africans engage in systematic discrimination and violence against white citizens, warning that similar dynamics could unfold in the United States if diversity efforts are not curtailed. These assertions, widely debunked by experts, reflect a long history of racial fear-mongering designed to mobilize white anxieties and resist racial progress. Trump’s rhetoric fits within a broader tradition of racial panic—one that historian Ronald Segal critically examined in The Race War: The Worldwide Clash of White and Non-White (1966).
Segal, a Jewish South African-born writer and fervent anti-apartheid activist, analyzed how racial fears are manufactured, exploited, and used to sustain white dominance. His work pays particular attention to South Africa, highlighting apartheid as a stark example of institutionalized racial segregation and oppression. Segal critiques the apartheid system for its dehumanizing policies and underscores the broader implications of systemic racism on global racial relations. His insights provide a crucial framework for understanding how Trump and Musk’s rhetoric echoes historical patterns of racial paranoia and political manipulation.
Manufacturing Racial Panic: Trump’s South Africa Narrative
Trump’s claims about South Africa gained international attention in 2018 when he directed then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to investigate the supposed “large-scale killing” of white South African farmers. Based on debunked right-wing conspiracy theories, this assertion led to diplomatic tensions between the U.S. and South Africa, culminating in the expulsion of the South African ambassador. This incident illustrates how racial panic—even when unfounded—can influence international relations and reinforce narratives of white victimhood.
Racial Panic as a Political Tool
John Eligon of the Johannesburg Bureau Chief, in his New York Times article “Trump Tries to Use White South Africans as Cautionary Tale” (March 15, 2025), explores how Trump’s rhetoric about South Africa was not just an international concern but a strategic domestic maneuver. By amplifying fears of white victimization abroad, Trump signaled to his base that racial justice efforts in the United States—whether in policing, immigration, or affirmative action—could lead to similar “persecutions” of white people. Eligon notes that Trump’s framing of South Africa as a cautionary tale aligns with longstanding white nationalist narratives that depict any erosion of white dominance as a prelude to violence and chaos.
This narrative is not new. Trump’s claims mirror apartheid-era propaganda that framed Black rule as a threat to white survival. Similarly, in post-Reconstruction America, white leaders—the self-proclaimed “Redeemers”—warned that Black political and economic empowerment would lead to the victimization of white people. This ideology justified segregation, lynching, and violent suppression of civil rights, fueling the Redemption Era, the rise of white Christian nationalism, and the Ku Klux Klan. By invoking South Africa, Trump modernized these historical fears, suggesting that demographic change in the U.S. could lead to an apocalyptic racial reckoning.
Segal’s Analysis of Global Racial Conflicts and Trump’s Fear-Mongering
Ronald Segal’s The Race War provides a critical framework for understanding how these racial anxieties are constructed. Segal argued that racial conflict is not an inevitable global clash between white and nonwhite people but a crisis manufactured by colonial legacies, economic exploitation, and white resistance to social change. He examined how European colonial rulers and apartheid leaders in South Africa deliberately framed racial justice movements as existential threats to white survival—a tactic that Trump repurposed in his claims about South Africa.
Segal’s insights help contextualize Trump’s rhetoric, particularly his reliance on the myth of white genocide. The claim that Black-led governments inevitably target white citizens was historically used to justify colonial rule and apartheid, despite the reality that post-colonial nations faced far more urgent challenges related to economic redistribution and governance. Trump’s exaggeration of farm attacks in South Africa mirrors these historical fear tactics, ignoring broader patterns of crime and violence affecting all racial groups in the country.
Diplomatic Fallout: The Expulsion of the South African Ambassador
Trump’s inflammatory claims had real-world consequences. Following his remarks, the South African government pushed back, denouncing his statements as misinformed and inflammatory. The diplomatic standoff escalated when the U.S. expelled South Africa’s Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool in response, marking a rare and significant deterioration in relations between the two nations. This incident highlights how racial panic, even when based on conspiracy theories, can have tangible effects on international diplomacy.
The rift further alienated the U.S. from key African allies when China expanded its economic and political influence. China, which has steadily strengthened ties with African nations, capitalized on Trump’s racialized rhetoric by promoting its non-interventionist approach to African affairs. This shift positioned China as a more favorable economic partner for South Africa and other nations, reducing U.S. influence in the region.
Meanwhile, Trump’s rhetoric reinforced his appeal to his predominantly white nationalist base in the U.S. while further isolating him from Black voters and international allies. His disparaging comments about African nations as “shithole countries” on January 11, 2018, during an Oval Office meeting, had already damaged relations with several African governments. The South African controversy only deepened the perception that Trump’s foreign policy was driven by racial grievances rather than strategic diplomacy.
The Enduring Influence of Fear-Based Narratives in Contemporary Politics
Trump’s rhetoric exemplifies how racial panic remains a potent political tool. By invoking South Africa as a warning, he played into deep-seated fears about demographic change, white displacement, and the perceived loss of racial privilege. This fear-mongering is not limited to South Africa; similar arguments are frequently used in the U.S. to oppose immigration, affirmative action, and police reform.
Segal’s analysis remains crucial in understanding these dynamics. He warned that as racial hierarchies faced increasing challenges, reactionary forces would double down on narratives of white victimization. The rise of right-wing populism, which amplifies white grievances under the guise of protecting “Western civilization,” aligns with Segal’s predictions about how racial fear would be strategically deployed to maintain power structures. Trump’s use of South Africa as a cautionary tale is just one example of how these narratives persist in shaping contemporary political discourse.
Conclusion
Trump’s accusations about South Africa are not isolated claims but part of a long-standing tradition of racial paranoia used to justify white resistance to racial progress. Ronald Segal’s The Race War provides a crucial lens for understanding these tactics, showing how racial conflicts are not inevitable but are manufactured to serve political ends. The expulsion of the South African ambassador and John Eligon’s analysis highlight how these fear-based narratives continue to shape domestic and international politics.
Trump and Musk's use of South Africa as a racialized political tool suggests that their primary motive isn’t genuine concern but rather an opportunistic strategy to stoke white grievance politics for personal and political gain. Their willingness to amplify debunked conspiracy theories and fuel racial paranoia, despite the real-world consequences, underscores a lack of scruples in their approach.
For Trump, weaponizing white fear has been a longstanding tactic to mobilize his base, whether through anti-immigrant rhetoric, opposition to diversity initiatives, or claims of a so-called “war on white people.” Musk, meanwhile, has increasingly aligned himself with right-wing ideologies, using his platform to promote narratives that appeal to reactionary audiences and deflect from more substantive critiques of economic inequality and corporate power.
By invoking South Africa as a “cautionary tale,” they’re not just engaging in historical revisionism—they're actively distorting reality to justify regressive policies and maintain their influence. It’s a classic move: frame racial justice as a threat, position themselves as the defenders of civilization, and manipulate public discourse to serve their ambitions.
With Trump overwhelming the public discourse with a constant barrage of stuff, it is crucial to take the time to examine the historical patterns of racial and colonial fear-mongering. By doing so, we can more effectively identify and challenge how racial fear is weaponized—whether in U.S. policy, global diplomacy, or the ongoing fight for racial justice.
