Trump announces US boycott of G20 Summit in South Africa over 'abuse of white farmers'

US President Donald Trump has announced that the United States will boycott the upcoming G20 Summitin South Africa, accusing the host nation of mistreating its minority white farming community. The South African government has firmly rejected the allegations, describing them as baseless and misleading.

In a post on his social media platform, Trump said it was a “total disgrace” that South Africa was hosting the summit, alleging that Afrikaners —descendants of Dutch, French, and German settlers — were facing violence, killings, and illegal land seizures. “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 wrote.

The move marks one of the rare instances of a diplomatic boycott by the United States of a major global forum. It also signals an increasingly combative approach from the Trump administration towards South Africa, a country that currently holds the rotating presidency of the G20.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has repeatedly dismissed claims of widespread persecution of white farmers, calling them “completely false.”

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US President Donald Trump posts, "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… pic.twitter.com/oUKxCZwgNl

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 8, 2025

Officials in Pretoria have pointed out that white South Africans continue to enjoy higher living standards than the majority Black population, even three decades after the end of apartheid.

Trump, who had earlier indicated that he would not personally attend the summit, reiterated his criticism during an economic event in Miami this week. “South Africa shouldn’t even be in the Gs anymore because what’s happened there is bad,” he said. “I’m not going to represent our country there. It shouldn’t be there.”

Earlier this year, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio boycotted a G20 foreign ministers’ meeting, objecting to the forum’s focus on diversity, inclusion, and climate change.

The G20 Summit is scheduled to take place in Johannesburg from 22 to 23 November. Despite Washington’s withdrawal, the meeting is expected to proceed as planned, with world leaders set to discuss global economic growth, sustainable energy transition, and development cooperation.

With IANS inputs