The United States will not take part in the upcoming G20 summit scheduled to be held in South Africa. President Donald Trump announced the decision on Friday, intensifying a growing diplomatic rift and once again repeating his disputed claims regarding the treatment of white farmers in the country. He criticized South Africa as an unfit host, calling the decision “a complete disgrace.”
In a post on his social media platform, Trump revealed that no American delegation, including Vice President JD Vance, who had originally been set to attend would travel for the global meeting.
Trump said the boycott is linked to what he alleges are ongoing “abuses” against Afrikaners, which he described as “violence, death, and the seizing of land and farms.”
This follows previous remarks in which Trump suggested that South Africa should be removed from the G20 entirely.South African officials rejected the accusations.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said he personally informed Trump that the claims of racial persecution were “completely false.”
Government representatives expressed disbelief at the allegations, noting that white South Africans continue to have a significantly higher standard of living compared to the Black majority, even decades after apartheid ended.
This withdrawal marks another chapter in the ongoing tension between Trump’s administration and South Africa.
Earlier in the year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio refused to attend a G20 foreign ministers’ meeting because he disagreed with the agenda, which emphasized climate change and diversity.
The Trump administration has also linked its stance on refugees to this issue, suggesting that most of the sharply reduced annual refugee quota of 7,500 would be reserved for white South Africans who, according to Trump, face discrimination.
