When foreign leaders meet with Donald Trump, they are walking a tightrope: They can be welcomed with open arms or be publicly belittled.

It all depends on the rapport they have built with the US president.

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa knew he would be entering a tense White House meeting Wednesday with Trump.

But what awaited him surprised everyone: Trump dimmed the lights and played a video he claimed proves genocide is being committed against white farmers in South Africa -- not your typical welcome for a head of state.

Trump and his allies have been spreading the baseless claims, which the government in Pretoria has dismissed as false.

"You do allow them to take land, and then when they take the land, they kill the white farmer, and when they kill the white farmer, nothing happens to them," Trump said.

Ramaphosa struggled to get a word in as he listened to the claims. But he remained calm as he denied that his country confiscates land from white farmers, and pushed his calls for improved relations after Trump offered refuge to dozens of Afrikaners of South Africa's largest white........

© International Business Times