WASHINGTON: Former US President Donald Trump has announced that no American officials will attend the upcoming G20 summit in South Africa, citing alleged human rights abuses against Afrikaners, reviving long-debunked claims of systematic persecution in the country.
Trump had previously stated in September that Vice President JD Vance would represent the US at the summit later this month, but he now says Washington will skip the event entirely.
“It is a total disgrace that the G20 will be held in South Africa. No U.S. Government Official will attend as long as these Human Rights abuses continue,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform. He claimed that Afrikaners, descendants of South Africa’s early European settlers, “are being killed and slaughtered, and their land and farms are being illegally confiscated.”
Trump also expressed his desire to host the 2026 G20 summit in the United States, controversially proposing his own Miami golf resort as the venue.
South Africa’s foreign ministry called Trump’s comments “regrettable” and emphasized that the claims are unfounded. “The characterisation of Afrikaners as an exclusively white group is ahistorical. Furthermore, the claim that this community faces persecution is not substantiated by fact,” the ministry said, adding that it remains focused on hosting a “successful” summit scheduled for November 22-23.
Under its G20 presidency, South Africa has adopted the theme “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability” and highlighted its journey from racial and ethnic division to democracy, positioning itself to promote global solidarity within the G20 framework.
Trump has repeatedly criticized South Africa since returning to the White House in January, including claims of a “white genocide” against farmers. Earlier this year, he confronted President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office with a video alleging a campaign against white farmers, which the South African government has denied.
Additionally, Trump’s administration recently announced plans to reduce the annual US refugee intake to a historic low of 7,500, prioritizing white South Africans. Trade and diplomatic tensions have also grown, with Trump imposing 30 percent tariffs on South African goods, the highest for any sub-Saharan African country, and disagreements over South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice regarding Gaza.
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