United States President Donald Trump has intensified his dispute with South Africa, announcing on social media that the country will not be invited to next year’s G20 summit in Miami. The decision marks a sharp escalation in a feud fuelled by Trump’s repeated and widely debunked claims that South Africa is carrying out human rights abuses and even “genocide” against white Afrikaners.
In a Wednesday post on Truth Social, Trump revived assertions that Afrikaners are facing systematic violence and land seizures, despite human rights experts consistently stating there is no evidence of such a genocide.
“South Africa has demonstrated to the world they are not a country worthy of membership anywhere,” Trump wrote, adding that the US would halt all payments and subsidies to the country. He accused South Africa’s government of showing “shocking disregard” for the rights of white citizens and condemned the media for not amplifying his claims.
Trump’s latest comments came just days after an awkward diplomatic moment at the G20 summit in Johannesburg. While the gathering was historic the first G20 leaders’ summit hosted on the African continent the US boycotted the event entirely. Trump refused to attend and declined to send any senior officials, citing alleged human rights violations.
During the closing ceremony, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa did not perform the customary act of passing the ceremonial gavel to the next host country. Trump later said that while he offered to send a representative from the US Embassy to receive it, South Africa refused, further souring relations.
The US and South Africa have long maintained strong economic and diplomatic ties. The US is South Africa’s second-largest single-country trading partner, with bilateral trade valued at roughly $26.2bn in 2024. But relations have deteriorated sharply due to Trump’s accusations and his administration’s increasingly confrontational approach.
Confirming the diplomatic fallout, Trump declared that, under his direction, South Africa “will NOT be receiving an invitation to the 2026 G20.”