US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that no US government official will attend the G20 summit scheduled for November 22–23 in South Africa, as he described the summit being held in the country as “a total disgrace.”
In a post on his social-media platform Truth Social, Trump said, “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 confiscated.”
“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!” his post added.
Trump had already announced earlier this week that he personally will not attend the summit, and said, “We have a G20 meeting in South Africa. South Africa shouldn’t even be in the Gs anymore because what’s happened there is bad. I told them I’m not going. I’m not going to represent our country there.”
South Africa assumed the G20 presidency on December 1, 2024, and will host the leaders’ summit in Johannesburg later this month — marking the first time the annual G20 leaders’ meeting is held on African soil.
Under its presidency, South Africa has also overseen the inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member of the G20.
Trump’s stance is rooted in his criticism of South Africa’s land-expropriation legislation and alleged discrimination against minority white Afrikaners.
Earlier this year, he issued an order condemning what he characterised as a “shocking disregard” of citizens’ rights by the South African government and pledged that the US would neither provide aid nor assistance to South Africa under those circumstances. (Wikipedia)
Additionally, Vice President JD Vance — once expected to represent the U.S. in Johannesburg — has been confirmed to no longer attend the summit, according to source.
The decision marks a sharp diplomatic rebuke of South Africa by the United States at a time when the G20 is meant to serve as a forum for global economic cooperation.
By withdrawing US officials from the summit, the administration signals that it sees the human-rights and land-policy issues in South Africa as incompatible with US participation in the forum.
Furthermore, the announcement that the US will host the 2026 G20 summit — planned at a location near Miami — underscores the significance the Trump administration places on this multilateral platform and its desire to shape the agenda.
The US boycott of the G20 summit in South Africa is unprecedented, underscoring deep fissures over human-rights and land-policy issues. It also raises questions about the efficacy of the G20 when a major member declines to engage.
The US will take over the Presidency of the G20 from South Africa and head the grouping from December 1, 2025, through November 30, 2026. Trump has previously said that he will host the G20 leaders for the 2026 summit at his golf club near Miami.
India was the President of the G20 from December 2022 to November 2023 and hosted the 18th G20 Summit in New Delhi in September 2023. Then-US President Joe Biden had travelled to India to attend the Summit.
The G20 comprises 19 countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkiye, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as the European Union and the African Union.
It was under India’s G20 Presidency that the African Union officially joined the grouping of the world’s major economies as a permanent member.
