EFF leader Julius Malema has asserted that former U.S. President Donald Trump was unsettled by the scale of the party’s 10-year anniversary rally at FNB Stadium in 2023. Addressing supporters, Malema claimed the event’s success sent a powerful message to global observers, including Trump.
“When Trump saw FNB Stadium packed with thousands of EFF members, he felt threatened,” Malema stated. “He witnessed the people’s power and realized his false claims about South Africa hold no truth.”
Malema was referencing Trump’s controversial 2018 remarks alleging widespread killings of white farmers in South Africa, which prompted the U.S. State Department to investigate alleged “land seizures” and farm murders. Both the South African government and the EFF have repeatedly dismissed these claims as baseless fearmongering.
#EFF leader #JuliusMalema claims US President #DonaldTrump was threatened by the party’s 10 year celebration at FNB stadium where thousands of EFF supporters gathered in 2023.
He says Trump knows there is no genocide in South Africa. KH #KayaNews pic.twitter.com/CCGGbxtjla
— Kaya News (@KayaNews) May 19, 2025
“The images from our rally exposed the truth—South Africa is not a place of genocide but of determined, united people fighting for change,” Malema added.
The 2023 anniversary event drew massive crowds, with supporters clad in the EFF’s signature red filling the stadium in one of the country’s largest political gatherings in recent years. Malema’s latest remarks underscore ongoing tensions over foreign perceptions of South Africa and the influence of external narratives on local politics.
The EFF, founded in 2013, has grown into a formidable opposition force, with its 10-year celebration serving as a display of its expanding influence. Malema’s comments suggest the party views its mobilization power as a counter to misleading international portrayals of South Africa’s social and political landscape.