Trump Believes Fox News—And South Africa Pays the Price
In a late-night tweet, the president shows disdain for a long tradition in American foreign policy.
In July, an American ex-president stopped briefly in South Africa. Barack Obama had forgotten the season in the Southern Hemisphere, he told an audience, and had needed to send an aide to buy a coat for him. The opportunity to lecture reminded him of the gray-haired ex-professor he might have become had he not entered politics. He thanked his hosts, calling South Africa’s new president, Cyril Ramaphosa, “inspiring,” and spoke at some length about the legacy of an earlier president, Nelson Mandela.
Obama’s appearance, and the compliment to his host, set off the chain of events that culminated Wednesday in President Donald Trump’s decision to intervene, via tweet,
