Trump escalates tensions as he refuses invite for South Africa to G20 in Miami

Washington DC - President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that South Africa would not be invited to next year's G20 summit in Miami, taking his diplomatic offensive against the country to a new level.

Trump has taken his diplomatic offensive against South Africa to a new level, announcing the country would not be invited to next year's G20 summit.
Trump has taken his diplomatic offensive against South Africa to a new level, announcing the country would not be invited to next year's G20 summit.  © ALEX WROBLEWSKI / AFP

Trump cited what he claimed were "horrific Human Right Abuses" endured by white farmers, and South Africa's refusal to symbolically hand off the G20 presidency at the end of this year's summit to the US.

"South Africa has demonstrated to the World they are not a country worthy of Membership anywhere," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Democrats accuse Trump of escalating campaign of "intimidation" as FBI steps in
Donald Trump Democrats accuse Trump of escalating campaign of "intimidation" as FBI steps in

Trump's government snubbed this year's G20 summit, which recently concluded in Johannesburg, saying South Africa's priorities, including cooperation on trade and climate, ran counter to its policies.

In response, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa refused to formally hand over the G20 presidency to the next host country, the US, as is customary.

Trump's officials have also made unfounded accusations of a "white genocide" targeting Afrikaners, descendants of the first European settlers, in South Africa.

"The South African Government refuses to acknowledge or address the horrific Human Right Abuses endured by Afrikaners, and other descendants of Dutch, French, and German settlers," Trump wrote in his post on Wednesday. "To put it more bluntly, they are killing white people, and randomly allowing their farms to be taken from them."

In May, at the White House, Trump ambushed Ramaphosa by showing him a video riddled with errors, supposedly proving his accusations, which South Africa denies.

The G20 summit, a format that brings together the world's 20 largest economies, is scheduled to take place in December 2026 at the Trump National Doral Miami golf resort in Florida, owned by the president's family.

Cover photo: ALEX WROBLEWSKI / AFP

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