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May 19
30m 30s

No More Refugees, Trump Said. Except Whi...

The New York Times
About this episode

For decades, white South Africans ruled with an iron fist, overseeing the country’s apartheid system of racial oppression.

Why is President Trump now welcoming them to the United States as victims?

John Eligon, the Johannesburg bureau chief for The New York Times, explains how the MAGA movement became obsessed with Afrikaners.

Guest: John Eligon, the Johannesburg bureau chief for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Photo: Ilan Godfrey for The New York Times

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