VIDEOS: Another Embarrassing Day for America on the World Stage
After several events in a single day, the world laughs at us, and it's unlikely to be the last time it does

From the White House to congressional hearings to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) press conference regarding noncitizens from various countries being deported to South Sudan, citizens of the United States suffered one of, if not the most embarrassing day, and it seems the country can look forward to many more as the world awaits the next punchline.
It’s difficult to determine which was worse, the Trump-Zelensky debacle at the White House or what happened in a similar ambush of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday. While Rhamaposa seemed much more prepared than Zelensky, it’s no less embarrassing to U.S. citizens who have suffered countless embarrassing foreign affairs incidents since Trump took office.
The president invoked various aspects of misinformation about the so-called ‘white genocide’ of South Africans, largely spread by Elon Musk. It should be noted that the concept of a white genocide comes from white supmacist and neo-Nazi circles all over the Western world. It’s not a new concept, but it’s foundational to the racist ‘great replacement’ conspiracy theory that Musk and several conservative Republican lawmakers subscribe to and promote in their rhetoric.
The White House aired a propaganda film focused on South African political leaders Jacob Zuma and Julius Malema that Trump claims shows proof of white genocide. But it lacked much context, as usual. Both men featured in the film are from minority parties in South Africa with very little political power and hold views that may have been more mainstream decades ago, but are not so much in the modern era.
I’ll spare you the propaganda video. You can watch it here.
When Rhamaphosa and South Africa’s Agriculture Minister explained it, it didn’t matter. Trump continued inventing things about murders of white farmers despite being corrected about Black farmers being disproportionately murdered over the last several years. At one point, Rhamaposa poked fun at Trump, saying he wished he had a plane to give him, which Trump said he would happily accept in yet another embarrassing moment on the world’s stage.
With one of the highest murder rates in the world, the overwhelming majority of victims in South Africa are Black. But when a reporter asked about that, Trump ignored the question, shifted to the ‘white genocide’ narrative, and began showing printouts of articles alleging they were proof of his and Musk’s claims. The problem, however, was that the photos and articles he showed of the supposed mass graves of white people were photos of a mass grave in the Congo.
A question related to 72% of all land being owned by the same allegedly persecuted group highlighted precisely why no one can claim white South Africans are oppressed, as they are just 4% of the population. Yet again, the White House ignored the duplicity of their claims even as the facts were laid out in the question asked by a right-wing reporter whom Trump favors.
What has become evident about Trump and his cronies is that they think South Africa is to Africa what South Texas is to Texas. Maybe that explains why they equate much of what happens on the entire continent to just one piece in the South. Considering the constant blunders and outright nonsense we hear coming from the White House, it should come as no surprise that the administration is ignorant about reality in South Africa.
Meanwhile, no talks of the actual genocide in Palestine.
Moving on…
Rubio at the House Foreign Affairs Hearing
During Wednesday’s House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Republicans did what they typically do: sing Donald Trump’s and administration officials’ praises. The committee, chaired by Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), went about as one-sided as you would expect from the guy who took to the House floor last year and dehumanized Palestinians in a racist rant.
“I would encourage the other side to not so lightly throw around the idea of ‘innocent Palestinian civilians’ … I don’t think we would so lightly throw around the term ‘innocent Nazi civilians’ during World War 2,” said Mast.
It’s no surprise that Mast was short with Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA) when she questioned Rubio about getting aid into Gaza. Dean was interrupted by protesters, and when asked for additional time to ask questions, Mast only gave her five seconds. Mast would later cut her off and wouldn’t let Rubio answer her question about getting aid into Gaza.
Rubio countered Mast’s assertion that Dean didn’t ask a question, saying he expected humanitarian aid to increase “over the next few days and weeks.”
Later, Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) calmly questioned Rubio. While discussing similarities in each other’s immigration stories, he questioned Rubio’s blatant duplicity. Castro’s measured questions flustered Rubio so intensely that he began to turn red as he struggled to respond, a sharp contrast from the Republican brown-nosing throughout the hearing.
No one else in the hearing seemed to have the effect Castro had on Rubio.
One of the biggest things to note in Rubio’s response to Castro was when he suggested that migrants seeking Temporary Protected Status (TPS) should apply for it through the asylum system. However, TPS is not part of the asylum system as it is administered by the Department of State. Asylum is enshrined in both U.S. and International law and is administered by several agencies under the Department of Homeland Security.
Toward the end of the hearing, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) questioned Rubio about his decision to revoke countless visas over what he interprets as not being protected speech, which the First Amendment says protects citizens and non-citizens alike. Throughout the hearing, Rubio was most notably aggressive toward women, but when it came to Jayapal, he was even more so.
While Republicans seemed focused on making Rubio comfortable, many Democrats countered by leaving the Secretary of State visibly flustered. Rep. Castro’s impact on Rubio seemed to rock him at his core. It shows that he knows what he is doing is wrong and falls under the ‘pull the ladder up behind you’ mentality that many Latinos and immigrants possess due to various forms of bigotry and often, outright racism. Rubio has always been that guy.
And then there was the ICE press conference…
ICE Sends Migrants to South Sudan
On Wednesday, a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration's deportations of eight men to South Sudan "unquestionably" violated an earlier order by not giving them adequate due process, including a "meaningful opportunity to object" to their removals to a country other than their own.
The migrants are from Cuba (2), Burma (2), Laos (1), Mexico (1), South Sudan (1), and Vietnam (1).
While the men in question have been convicted of violent crimes, they are not “uniquely barbaric monsters who present a clear and present threat to the safety of the American people” any more than U.S. citizens who commit these crimes every day. Sadly, this is more a question of a culture in the U.S. that often uses death and murder to solve disagreements. But the White House has no problem using a handful of non-white bad guys to demonize millions.
Neither does ICE, which does it constantly.
Not much can be positively said about a law enforcement agency that acts at the behest of an administration riddled with people who have no experience in what they do – incompetent on a good day, and useless the rest of the time. For example, on Wednesday, ICE argued that the destination for the migrants was privileged information while holding a press conference titled “DHS Press Conference on Migrant Flight to South Sudan.”
When asked about this, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said South Sudan may (or may not) be their final destination. Meanwhile, she wasted no time releasing a statement villainizing Judge Brian Murphy of the District of Massachusetts. She claims he ordered the migrants to be returned, but he did not. He never even suggested it.
“We are removing these convicted criminals from American soil so they can never hurt another American victim. It is absurd that an activist judge is trying to force the United States to bring back these uniquely barbaric monsters who present a clear and present threat to the safety of the American people,” said McLaughlin. “We have given the media the names of these monsters. I implore the media to stop doing the bidding of these criminals and to tell the stories of innocent Americans who have been victimized.”
The judge asked the U.S. to maintain custody of the migrants as the case plays out, should any issues arise, such as any due process violations, which Murphy asserts happened. While Murphy seems to be taking the administration at its word about the government questioning the migrants and providing a meaningful opportunity to object, he did say, “The department's actions in this case are unquestionably in violation of this court’s order,” which was meant to assure migrants receive due process guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution
At issue is that the group was flown out of the country just hours after being informed of where they were being sent and not provided an opportunity to contest their destination. As of Wednesday evening, migrants were presumably sitting on a Gulfstream charter jet, which many argue is likely parked at a U.S. military base in Djibouti.
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According to White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt on Thursday, the migrants will be in South Sudan for two weeks, along with the ICE agents who accompanied them, likely in housing provided at the base.
“Now Judge Murphy is forcing federal officials to remain in Djibouti for over two weeks threatening our US diplomatic relationships with countries around the world and putting the agents’ lives in danger by having to be with these illegal murderers, criminals and rapists,” Leavitt said.
Leavitt said that the migrants were informed of their destinations sometime on Monday evening, after hours, and were taken to the airport at 9:35 the next morning. Judge Murphy says that this was not sufficient time to consult an attorney or family members, making it “impossible” for the migrants to challenge their deportations to a third country.
Why So Quiet?
It’s interesting how quiet legacy media is regarding the lies Trump promoted about South Africa, the duplicity Rubio showed, and the misinformation DHS and ICE use to villainize all migrants for the actions of a few. These could all have terrifying implications, and as is typical with legacy media, they’ll be quiet now and feign outrage and concern when it becomes more horrifying, doing very little, if anything, to try and stop it.
Until then, it’s up to us, independent journalists.
Arturo is an independent journalist whose work can be found at Unicorn Riot, The Antagonist Magazine, Latino Rebels, and more. Arturo is also on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and Threads. To support his work, become a paid subscriber or donate via Venmo, PayPal, or Cash App.
Great work. It's unsurprising that a regime filled with lawbreakers disobeys the law. The other thing the infotainment industry fails to do, is remind people that this regime cleared the charges of J6 people who had prior drug, violence and sexual violence convictions, long before raiding and shit-smearing the nation's capital. As they pretend they're for public safety and haul every face of color they see to some godforsaken death camp prison abroad, unmonitored racist, White supremacist militia members are set free to commit more criminally violent acts.
👏 “It’s interesting how quiet legacy media is regarding the lies Trump promoted about South Africa, the duplicity Rubio showed, and the misinformation DHS and ICE use to villainize all migrants for the actions of a few.” 👏