U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that the United States will not attend the upcoming G20 Summit in South Africa, citing unsubstantiated claims that white South Africans are being persecuted.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump described it as a “total disgrace” that the G20 is being held in South Africa, alleging without evidence that “Afrikaners are being killed and their land and farms are being illegally confiscated.”
The South African Foreign Ministry responded on Tuesday, calling the decision “regrettable” and reaffirming that such claims are “baseless and misleading.”
Trump’s statement comes amid renewed circulation of false narratives in some right-wing media circles in the U.S. alleging a “white genocide” in South Africa, a claim long discredited by independent human rights groups and official crime statistics.
No South African political party, including those representing Afrikaners or white communities, has made such accusations.
The G20 Summit, scheduled to take place later this month in Johannesburg, is expected to host leaders from the world’s largest economies to discuss global economic cooperation, development, and security.
