US President Donald Trump announced on social media that South Africa will not be allowed to attend the Group of 20 (G20) Intergovernmental Forum to be held next year in Miami, Florida.
In a post on Wednesday, President Trump reiterated his false claim that a “genocide” of white people is occurring in the African country.
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He also reiterated his threat that South Africa would no longer receive funding from the United States, a policy he introduced earlier this year.
“South Africa has proven to the world that it is not worthy of membership,” Trump wrote. “We will immediately suspend all payments and subsidies to them.”
The message on Truth Social was the latest escalation in an ongoing feud with South Africa, which President Trump has accused of a “shocking disregard” for the rights of white Afrikaners.
Human rights experts agree that President Trump’s claims of genocide against Afrikaners are baseless.
But President Trump has repeatedly cited such claims when pressuring South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa’s government. He also accused the media of failing to get his message across.
“The South African government refuses to acknowledge or address the horrific human rights abuses suffered by Afrikaners and other descendants of Dutch, French, and German settlers,” President Trump wrote on Wednesday.
“To put it more bluntly, they are allowing white people to be murdered and their farms taken at random. Perhaps worst of all, the soon-to-be-out-of-business New York Times and the fake news media won’t say a word about this genocide.”
pass the gavel
President Trump’s latest comments come in the wake of last weekend’s awkward diplomatic incident that highlighted the increasingly fractious nature of the relationship between the United States and South Africa.
In recent decades, the two countries have generally enjoyed cordial relations.
The United States is South Africa’s second largest single trading partner after China, with trade between the two countries amounting to approximately $26.2 billion in 2024.
But the G20 summit held last weekend in the South African city of Johannesburg showed how dramatically relations between the two countries have changed.
This summit was an important event for all of Africa. It was the first time that the African continent hosted a G20 leader.
However, although the US usually has a strong presence in the G20, this time the Trump administration decided to boycott the proceedings. Not only did President Trump refuse to attend, he also refused to send senior officials from Washington, D.C., to the event.
“It is an absolute shame that the G20 is being held in South Africa,” he said in a post on November 7.
“No U.S. government official will attend as long as these human rights violations continue.”
The G20 has traditionally been a meeting place for leaders of the European Union, the African Union and the world’s other major economies to discuss technology, environmental initiatives and shared financial growth.
Next year, the summit will be held in Miami. Traditionally, G20 summit organizers close the meeting by clapping the gavel and handing a small mallet to officials from neighboring countries to open the meeting.
But on Sunday, Ramaphosa did not hand over the gavel to anyone.
President Trump on Wednesday confirmed reports that he had offered to send a U.S. embassy official to receive the gavel, but the offer was rejected by the Ramaphosa government as contemptuous.
“At the conclusion of the G20, South Africa refused to allow the senior representative from the U.S. Embassy, who attended the closing ceremony, to assume the position of G20 president,” Trump wrote. “Therefore, on my instructions, South Africa will not receive an invitation to the G20 in 2026.”
rising tension
President Ramaphosa largely avoided mentioning the US’ absence during the G20 meeting, instead emphasizing global solidarity and promoting efforts to fight inequality.
“Our G20 Presidency is rooted in the belief that the world needs more unity, equality and sustainability,” Ramaphosa wrote on social media on Tuesday.
“While some seek to create division and polarization between nations, we have strengthened our common humanity. We have fostered cooperation and goodwill. Above all, we have confirmed that our common goals outweigh our differences.”
The increasingly hostile relationship between South Africa and the United States began early in President Trump’s second term.
On February 7, President Trump issued an executive order accusing South Africa of alleged human rights abuses against white Afrikaners and saying he would cut off all aid and assistance to the country.
As of fiscal year 2023, total U.S. aid to South Africa was approximately $441.3 million, according to government statistics. For fiscal year 2024, which is currently only partially reported, the total increased to approximately $581 million.
In a February order, President Trump directed U.S. government agencies to assist in the resettlement of Afrikaner “refugees” to the United States.
He doubled down on that call in late October, setting the lowest refugee cap in U.S. history.
The Trump administration called for a majority of the 7,500 refugee slots to be allocated to “Afrikaners of South African origin” and other “victims of unlawful or unjust discrimination.”
Trump also welcomed Ramaphosa to the White House in May in an effort to confront the South African leader over accusations of genocide in the country. Some critics liken the meeting to an “ambush.”
Mr Ramaphosa has repeatedly denied the accusations. When asked by reporters about the US boycotting this year’s G20, he bluntly replied, “Their absence is their loss.”
