U.S. president Donald Trump has announced that no United States officials will attend the upcoming G20 summit in Johannesburg later this month, accusing South Africa of alleged human rights abuses against white farmers.
Posting on X on Saturday morning, Trump said it was a “disgrace” that South Africa is hosting the event, and repeated long-debunked claims about farm seizures and attacks on Afrikaner farmers.
“No U.S. Government Official will attend as long as these Human Rights abuses continue. I look forward to hosting the 2026 G20 in Miami, Florida!,” Trump wrote.
The G20 summit, scheduled for 22–23 November, will bring together the world’s major economies, including the United States, China, India, and the European Union, to discuss global economic cooperation, climate change, and international security.
‘BAD THINGS HAPPENING IN SA’
Trump’s comments follow remarks he made earlier this week at an event marking the first anniversary of his election victory.
He said he did not believe South Africa should be hosting the gathering, describing the country as a “communist tyranny.”
“South Africa shouldn’t even be in the Gs anymore because what’s happening there is bad. I’m not going, I told them I’m not going. I’m not going to represent our country there, it shouldn’t be there,” he said.
He went on to claim that Miami, Florida, where he intends to host the 2026 summit, has long served as a refuge for people fleeing what he described as political and economic instability in South Africa.
MISINFORMATION ABOUT SA
While the South African government has not formally responded to Trump’s latest remarks, officials in the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) have previously dismissed his claims as lacking factual accuracy.
In February, Trump issued an executive order accusing South Africa of engaging in “egregious actions” including government sponsored and race-based discrimination through a land-expropriation law that the U.S. claims allows seizure of agricultural property from Afrikaner farmers, without compensation.
Trump previously said he would send Vice President JD Vance to represent the United States, a decision that South Africa’s Minister of International Relations, Ronald Lamola, welcomed at the time.
The G20 summit will be South Africa’s first time hosting the gathering since joining the group in 1999.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to welcome world leaders to Johannesburg to discuss global economic recovery, sustainable energy, and development in the Global South.
