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US to boycott G-20 Summit in South Africa this year. Here's why?
Earlier, US President Donald Trump suggested that South Africa should be removed from the G20 entirely.
President Donald Trump on Friday announced that no official from the United States would attend this year's Group of 20 (G20) summit in South Africa, citing what he described as the mistreatment of white farmers in the country.
While Trump had already said he would not personally attend the annual gathering of the world's largest economies, Vice President JD Vance, who was expected to represent the US, will also not attend the summit, a source familiar with the plan told AP.
"It is a total disgrace that the G20 will be held in South Africa. Afrikaners (People who are descended from Dutch settlers, and also French and German immigrants) are being killed and slaughtered, and their land and farms are being illegally confiscated. No US Government Official will attend as long as these Human Rights abuses continue. I look forward to hosting the 2026 G20 in Miami, Florida," Trump posted on Truth Social.
Why is the US boycotting this year's G-20 Summit?
In his latest post, President Trump cited "the mistreatment of white farmers in the country" as the reason behind the boycott.
The Trump administration has long accused the South African government of allowing minority white Afrikaner farmers to be persecuted and attacked.
Trump also suggested that South Africa should be removed from the G20 entirely. South African officials, however, have rejected the allegations.
This decision reflects a broader pattern of boycotts during the Trump era over G20 meetings. Earlier this year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio skipped a summit for foreign ministers because the agenda focused on diversity, inclusion, and climate change.
South Africa reacts
The South African government said it is surprised by the accusations of discrimination, because white people in the country generally have a much higher standard of living than its Black residents, more than three decades after the end of the apartheid system of white minority rule.
The country's president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has said he's told Trump that information about the alleged discrimination and persecution of Afrikaners is "completely false."
