British Prime Minister Teresa May on Tuesday broke with President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE by endorsing a South African proposal for land reform, a practice that Trump criticized in a tweet last week.

"The U.K. has for some time supported land reform in South Africa that will be a legal, transparent and democratic process,” May said in Cape Town during her trip to multiple African countries this week, according to The Associated Press.

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She said that she believes the process will encourage economic growth, citing previous conversations between herself and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

She said she does not think the current proposal for the government to seize land without compensation will be a "smash and grab," but will rather responsibly address longstanding racial divisions rooted in the country's legacy of apartheid, the AP reported.

Trump has not taken an official position on South African land reform, but he criticized the recent proposal under debate in South Africa's parliament based on a Fox News segment by host Tucker Carlson last week.

Trump claimed in a tweet that he had asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Michael (Mike) Richard PompeoPutin nominated for Nobel Peace Prize The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Trump previews SCOTUS nominee as 'totally brilliant' Pompeo accused of stumping for Trump ahead of election MORE to "closely study" the issue of the South Africa "land and farm seizures." He suggested the land seizures were leading to "large scale killing of farmers."

"I have asked Secretary of State ... to closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriations and the large scale killing of farmers," Trump tweeted. "South African Government is now seizing land from white farmers."

I have asked Secretary of State @SecPompeo to closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriations and the large scale killing of farmers. “South African Government is now seizing land from white farmers.” @TuckerCarlson @FoxNews — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 23, 2018

The tweet prompted a furious response from the South African government.

"South Africa totally rejects this narrow perception which only seeks to divide our nation and reminds us of our colonial past," the government tweeted.

Whites in South Africa hold about 72 percent of the land though they make up about 9 percent of the population.

Killings of white farmers are at a 20-year low, with 47 farmers killed in 2017 and 2018, according to Reuters.

South Africa was a British colony from the early 19th century until the early 20th century.