A meeting meant to soothe tensions between the US and South Africa instead spiralled as President Donald Trump put his counterpart on the defensive with claims that white farmers in his nation were "persecuted". On Wednesday, a week after the US granted asylum to nearly 60 Afrikaners - a move that rankled South Africa - President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the White House to reset the countries' relations. Instead, Trump surprised Ramaphosa during a live news conference with widely discredited claims of a "white genocide" in South Africa.