Trump Calls South Africa Hosting of G20 a “Disgrace,” Bars US Officials from Attending
Washington: US President Donald Trump has declared it a “total disgrace” that the upcoming G20 Summit will be held in South Africa later this month, announcing that no American government official will attend as long as “human rights abuses” against the ethnic Afrikaner minority persist in the country.
Trump, who earlier this week confirmed he would skip the Summit, questioned South Africa’s inclusion in the G20 bloc of major economies.
“It is a total disgrace that the G20 will be held in South Africa. Afrikaners—descendants of Dutch, French, and German settlers—are being killed and their land and farms are being taken illegally,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday. “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!” he added.
Shortly after beginning his second presidential term in February, Trump signed an order condemning South Africa’s “shocking disregard” for citizens’ rights through legislation allowing the state to seize Afrikaner-owned farmland without compensation. The directive also restricted US aid to South Africa and promoted resettlement opportunities for Afrikaner refugees facing discrimination.
Reiterating his stance at a Miami business forum on Wednesday, Trump said, “I’m not going. South Africa shouldn’t even be in the Gs anymore because of what’s happening there. I told them I’m not going. I’m not going to represent our country there. It shouldn’t be there.”
South Africa, which assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1, 2024, will host world leaders in Johannesburg on November 22–23 — marking the first-ever G20 Summit on African soil. The US will take over the Presidency from December 2025 to November 2026, with Trump planning to host the event in Miami.
India, which chaired the G20 from December 2022 to November 2023, hosted the 18th G20 Summit in New Delhi, attended by then-US President Joe Biden.
The G20 includes 19 countries — Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, and the United States — along with the European Union and the African Union.
Under India’s Presidency, the African Union was admitted as a permanent member of the group.
“Miami has long been a haven for those fleeing oppression in South Africa,” Trump said in his concluding remarks. “Just look at what’s happening there — and across parts of South America and the world. It’s terrible.”
