United States President Donald Trump has explained why the U.S. chose to boycott the G20 Summit in South Africa, citing severe human-rights abuses by the South African government and what he described as a refusal to cooperate with American diplomatic protocols.
In a statement released on Friday, Trump asserted, “The United States did not attend the G20 in South Africa, because the South African Government refuses to acknowledge or address the horrific Human Right Abuses endured by Afrikaners, and other descendants of Dutch, French, and German settlers.”
The president, who has previously clashed with Pretoria over land reform policies, went on to make sweeping claims about violence in the country.
Trump tweeted, “To put it more bluntly, they are killing white people, and randomly allowing their farms to be taken from them. Perhaps, worst of all, the soon to be out of business New York Times and the Fake News Media won’t issue a word against this genocide. That’s why all the Liars and Pretenders of the Radical Left Media are going out of business!”
He also criticised South Africa’s handling of the summit’s closing protocol, claiming that the host nation refused to formally pass the G20 presidency to the US delegation.
“At the conclusion of the G20, South Africa refused to hand off the G20 Presidency to a Senior Representative from our U.S. Embassy, who attended the Closing Ceremony,” Trump said. “Therefore, at my direction, South Africa will NOT be receiving an invitation to the 2026 G20, which will be hosted in the Great City of Miami, Florida next year.”
Trump further announced that the United States would halt financial aid to South Africa, escalating his criticism of the government.
“South Africa has demonstrated to the World they are not a country worthy of Membership anywhere, and we are going to stop all payments and subsidies to them, effective immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
As of Friday, the South African government had not issued a formal response to Trump’s statements.
