US President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that South Africa will not receive an invitation to next year’s Group of 20 summit in Miami, citing alleged human rights abuses against white Afrikaner farmers and a perceived snub to U.S. representatives at this year’s gathering in Johannesburg.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump reiterated his decision to boycott the 2025 summit, which concluded Sunday at Johannesburg’s Nasrec Expo Centre, claiming the South African government “refuses to acknowledge or address the horrific Human Rights abuses endured by Afrikaners and other descendants of Dutch, French, and German settlers.” He described the situation bluntly as “killing white people and randomly allowing their farms to be taken from them,” echoing long-debunked narratives of a “white genocide” in the country.
Trump further accused South African President Cyril Ramaphosa of refusing to hand over G20 presidency symbols to a “Senior Representative from our U.S. Embassy” during the closing ceremony, labeling it a disrespectful act.
“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,” he wrote. The summit is slated for December 2026 at Trump’s Doral golf resort near Miami.
Escalating the dispute, Trump declared that the U.S. would “stop all payments and subsidies to South Africa, effective immediately.” Details on the affected funding remain unclear, but most U.S. aid to South Africa—primarily for HIV/AIDS programs—has already been curtailed under earlier Trump administration orders.
The announcement drew sharp rebuke from Pretoria. In a statement, Ramaphosa’s office called Trump’s remarks “regrettable” and based on “misinformation and distortions,” emphasising South Africa’s status as a founding G20 member.
It clarified that G20 instruments were handed over to a U.S. Embassy official at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation headquarters after the U.S. opted not to attend the leaders’ summit. “South Africa is a sovereign constitutional democratic country and does not appreciate insults from another country about its worth in participating in global platforms,” the statement read, vowing to continue as a “full, active and constructive member.”
South African officials have repeatedly denied claims of systematic persecution or land seizures targeting white farmers, describing them as baseless propaganda rooted in apartheid-era fears.
The feud marks a fresh low in U.S.-South Africa relations, strained since Trump’s first term over issues like land reform and foreign policy alignments. The 2025 Johannesburg summit, the first hosted on the African continent, proceeded without a U.S. delegation and produced a declaration on climate and economic challenges despite American objections, which the White House decried as South Africa “weaponising” its presidency.
Analysts question the legal and practical feasibility of Trump’s move, as G20 membership is collective and host nations have limited discretion over invitations. One U.S. official, speaking anonymously, suggested Poland—a nation with close ties to Trump—could be elevated as a guest participant instead.