From ‘beacon of hope’ to ‘neo-imperialist’: Zuma party’s great Trumpian flip-flop
In early 2025, South Africa’s official opposition party lauded US President Donald Trump as being a ‘beacon of hope’.
Just 12 months ago, the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, led by Jacob Zuma, hailed US President Donald Trump as a global saviour. Today, South Africa’s official opposition has branded him a “neo-imperialist” warlord.
This staggering ideological pivot marks one of the quickest policy “flip-flops” in recent South African political history, leaving the party’s credibility under intense digital fire.
The public reaction has been scathing. On X (formerly Twitter), former Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa concisely noted the party’s “buyers remorse”.
Other users were more blunt; Mziwandile Ndlovu posted: “You celebrated his election. You see your stupidity now?” while another user simply labelled them “Confused fools”.
MK Party’s drastic shift on Donald Trump
The shift is indeed jarring when compared to January 2025. Back then, the MK Party viewed Trump’s inauguration as a “pivotal opportunity” and a “beacon of hope” for dismantling global systems of exploitation.
They lauded his “compassion” regarding Ukraine and his supposed dedication to ending “unjust” attacks on Palestine. They even trusted Trump to use his power to champion a “fairer and more inclusive” UN Security Council.
However, the “beacon of hope” was extinguished by the reality of January 2026. Following months of escalating threats, the United States launched a coordinated military assault on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured during a raid in Caracas and forcibly flown to New York to face 2020 narco-terrorism charges.
Trump’s subsequent rhetoric was anything but the “equitable governance” the MK Party once envisioned. Boasting aboard Air Force One at the weekend, Trump declared “we’re in charge” and claimed the US was “taking back what they stole”, referring to plans for American corporations to manage Venezuela’s vast oil resources.
The MK Party’s tune has changed accordingly. South Africa’s third-largest politcal party now unequivocally condemn the US for “militarised coercion in the service of resource control” and a “fraudulent narrative” of law enforcement. They have officially rejected the use of force to seize national resources, labelling the intervention a “new form of colonialism”.
As Akhona Gala joked on X: “Zuma is now going to take other KZN boys to Venezuela to fight war with USA”.
While the sarcasm is sharp, the political reality is sharper. The MK Party now finds itself aligned with the Economic Freedom Fighters in warning that such “imperial aggression” sets a dangerous precedent that could eventually target South Africa itself.
Analogy: The MK Party’s relationship with Trump has been like a whirlwind romance with a “bad boy” rebel, only to realise far too late that the rebel’s definition of “tearing down the system” included bulldozing their friend’s house for the minerals underneath.