No, US president Trump has not targeted African leaders with order to sell their jets and deport their children
IN SHORT: US president Donald Trump has signed many executive orders since his inauguration. But there is no truth to the online claim that he ordered the sale of African leaders’ property and the removal of their children.
US president Donald Trump has signed several executive orders since retaking office on 20 January 2025.
According to a running tally, there were 76 as of 4 February. Measures relating to the federal government, immigration and foreign policy make up almost half of these.
Trump’s immigration-related executive orders have focused on border security, deportation policies and visa restrictions.
But according to some Facebook posts, African leaders are now in his crosshairs. One viral claim alleges that Trump has ordered the sale of all their private jets and luxury properties in the US.
The posts claim the children of these politicians who study in the US are also to be deported.
“Your children must attend schools in your own country & contribute to its growth,” the viral message quotes Trump as saying.
This claim also appears here, here and here.
Africa Check recently debunked a similar claim that Trump had ordered the children of Nigerian politicians to leave the US.
What are executive actions?
In the United States, an executive action is a directive issued by the president to manage the federal government’s operations. They let the president change policy and manage federal operations immediately without waiting for Congress.
Has Trump used these orders to direct the sale of African politicians’ property and the deportation of their children studying in the US? We checked.
No evidence to this claim up
There is no such requirement in the US Federal Register, the official government publication where such orders are listed.
The official White House website is more up-to-date on Trump’s orders so far. We did not find any such orders listed there either.
Both local and international media have also closely monitored Trump’s speeches, decisions and executive orders since his inauguration. We found no reports of African politicians’ property being sold or their children targeted for deportation, as one would expect given the geopolitical ramifications of such an order.
So far, Trump’s actions directly affecting Africa have included freezing US aid in general, and severing funding to South Africa specifically over a land law.
There is no publicly available evidence to support the claim that Trump ordered the sale of property belonging solely to African politicians or the deportation of their children.
