United States President Donald Trump on Saturday suggested he may skip this year’s G20 summit, which is set to be hosted by South Africa in November.
His comments, made on social media, reignited tensions between the two nations and were met with criticism from political groups in South Africa.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump repeated contentious claims about alleged anti-white violence in South Africa, including accusations that white farmers were facing violent persecution and having their land seized in what he described as a “genocide.” Trump asked, “Is this where we want to be for the G20? I don’t think so!”
South Africa currently holds the presidency of the G20, which brings together leaders from the world’s major economies for discussions on global issues.
According to AFP, relations between Pretoria and Washington have soured under Trump’s leadership, with the US president previously accusing South Africa of implementing anti-white policies.
When asked about Trump’s suggestion that he might not attend the summit, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson responded by saying that the country had “no longer expected him to attend in any case.”
Trump’s post also referenced video clips of Julius Malema, leader of the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters party, who has advocated for land expropriation without compensation.
In response, the EFF accused Trump of using the dispute as an excuse to avoid facing his international counterparts, especially after his controversial decision to impose trade tariffs on several countries.
The EFF, which received 10 percent of the vote in the 2024 elections, advocates for policies such as nationalising mines and banks and redistributing land, though they insist this should be done legally and constitutionally.
The issue of land reform remains a sensitive and divisive topic in South Africa, where more than 70 percent of commercial farmland is still owned by the white minority, three decades after the end of apartheid.
The South African government has repeatedly denied claims that it has confiscated land, and the accusations of a “white genocide” have been debunked by experts and are widely regarded as baseless, often circulated by far-right groups.
In a related development, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also chose not to attend a G20 foreign ministers meeting in South Africa earlier this year, citing concerns about what he described as an “anti-American” agenda.
