Within hours of the newscast, Mr. Trump had fired off a tweet claiming that there was “large-scale killing” of white farmers in South Africa, and that he had directed the State Department to “closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriations.”

U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim this week that there is an unreported “genocide” happening against white farmers in South Africa was his harshest accusation yet against a country he has moved to punish over a range of issues.

Asked by a reporter why he was welcoming white South Africans to the U.S. as refugees, President Donald Trump said there was "a genocide that's taking place" against white farmers in the country. Experts say the president is misapplying that term.