US to boycott South Africa G20 summit over white farmers treatment

President Donald Trump has declared that no United States officials will attend this year’s Group of 20 summit in South Africa, citing what he calls the country’s unacceptable treatment of white farmers.

In a post on his Truth Social platform on Friday, Trump labeled it a “total disgrace” that the G20 would be held in South Africa. “Afrikaners… are being killed and slaughtered, and their land and farms are being illegally confiscated,” he wrote. “No US Government Official will attend as long as these Human Rights abuses continue.”

The claims of systematic persecution and genocide against white farmers have been repeatedly rejected by South African authorities, fact-checkers and academic researchers.

Disputed claims and diplomatic fallout

This is not the first time Trump has made these allegations. Since returning to office, his administration has consistently advanced this narrative, which has become a recurring point of tension with the government of President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The situation has already affected diplomatic planning. United States Vice President JD Vance, who was expected to attend the Johannesburg summit in place of Trump, will no longer be traveling, according to a source familiar with the plans.

Tensions initially flared after President Ramaphosa introduced the Expropriation Act in January. The law is designed to address historical land ownership disparities stemming from the apartheid era, where a vast majority of private land remains with the hands of the white minority.

The government insists the act creates a framework for fair redistribution and is not a program of confiscation, allowing for land to be taken without compensation only in exceptional circumstances, such as when a site has been abandoned.

A pattern of action

The Trump administration has backed its rhetoric with policy shifts. In May, the US granted asylum to 59 white South Africans through a resettlement program described as offering sanctuary from racial discrimination.

Furthermore, in a move that signalled a broader policy change, the White House indicated on 30 October that the majority of new US refugee admissions would be allocated to white South Africans, as it significantly reduced the overall annual refugee cap.

During a White House meeting with President Ramaphosa earlier this year, Trump reportedly confronted him with the genocide claim.

Ramaphosa firmly denied the allegations, pointing to the presence of successful white South Africans in business and sports as evidence against such a systematic campaign.

Some analysts, like Cambridge historian Saul Dubow, suggest there is “no merit to Trump’s fantasy claims,” and that the administration’s focus may be linked to other grievances, such as South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

The White House, however, has maintained its position, framing the G20 boycott as a stand against human rights abuses.