Trump: Mister Human Rights

May 22, 2025

Talking to Xi Jinping, Trump did not criticize China’s horrific human rights abuses against Xinjiang Uighurs, around a million put in concentration camps. In fact, Trump endorsed that. Meeting Israel’s Netanyahu, Trump had nothing to say about Palestinians’ human rights. Indeed proposing his own ethnic cleansing.

Then he had a chummy session with El Salvador’s dictator Bukele. Then in the Middle East said nothing critical to any of its authoritarian rulers; certainly not Saudi Arabia’s MBS, who ordered the dismemberment of a Washington Post journalist.

The word “transactional” is often heard regarding Trump foreign policy. Meaning it’s all about “deals.” With no concern about human rights — or morality more broadly — supposedly trumped by interests. As if it’s in our interest to align with dictators and screw longtime allies. Such amorality weakens America.

Then South African President Ramaphosa visits the White House — and Trump is suddenly all Mister Human Rights. Yammering about white farmers’ land confiscated, even their “genocide,” with “death, death, death,” and impunity for murderers. Even playing Ramaphosa a video of a song about killing whites.

Sung not by anyone in his government, but an opposition rabble-rouser who he’s battled against. Everything else in Trump’s indictment was likewise nonsense. While South Africa does suffer much crime and violence, victims are mostly Blacks (not whites, who often have resources to protect themselves).

How deeply sick it is for Trump to choose this one phony human rights issue to posture about, disregarding the all too real atrocities against Uighurs, Palestinians, and so many others. But those all made the mistake of choosing the wrong color or religion. Trump rants only about supposed wrongs against white Christians. His sole human rights concern. Grounded (typically) in lies.

He’s also made a big show of welcoming white Christian “refugees” from South Africa, with five-star treatment. While slamming our door against virtually all other (legitimate) refugees.

Apart from the obvious racism operating here, maybe South Africa actually incurred Trump’s ire by cozying up to countries like Iran and Russia. Well — nah. Trump himself does that. What may instead have riled him — speaking of genocide — was South Africa initiating a genocide case before an international tribunal, against Israel, for its ghastly Gaza atrocities.

And speaking of atrocities, and human rights —

Britain’s previous Conservative government pushed a vile plan to ship refugees to Rwanda. Even paid Rwanda millions to take them. Thankfully, the plan never jelled, being slapped down by British courts. And the government obeyed them.

But meantime we’ve heard much about the Trump regime sending migrants to El Salvador’s hellhole prisons; violating judicial orders. The latest (details are murky as I write) is sending people to South Sudan. Here too thumbing a nose at judges’ rulings.

At least Rwanda has a well organized government (too much so, many think). South Sudan, in contrast, is a hot mess, wracked by violence, with a government whose writ does not run far. Dumping non-African migrants there — even assuming the wildly mendacius Trump regime is not lying in calling them “criminals” — is sadistically cruel. What are those people supposed to do, to survive there?

Might as well just put them right into gas chambers.