WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that no American official will attend this year’s G20 Summit in South Africa, citing alleged human rights abuses against white farmers in the country.
Trump claimed that white farmers, known as Afrikaners, are being killed and mistreated, and that their land is being unlawfully seized. He called it “shameful” that the summit is being hosted in South Africa and reiterated his decision on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Initially, Vice President J.D. Vance was scheduled to attend in Trump’s place, but sources confirmed that Vance will also skip the summit.
The South African Foreign Ministry dismissed Trump’s allegations as “regrettable” and “baseless,” emphasizing that the country remains committed to successfully hosting the global gathering.
It stated that Afrikaners are not being persecuted and that their standard of living remains significantly higher than that of the Black majority, even three decades after the end of apartheid.
The Trump administration has previously accused South Africa’s government of discriminating against white farmers and had also moved to limit South African refugee admissions, claiming they faced persecution.
Earlier this year, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio boycotted another G20 meeting over its agenda, which focused on diversity, inclusion, and climate change.
