President Donald Trump announced Friday that no U.S. government officials would attend this year’s Group of 20 summit in South Africa, citing the country’s treatment of white farmers.
According to The Associated Press, Trump had already said he would skip the annual meeting of heads of state from the world’s largest economies. Vice President JD Vance had been scheduled to attend in his place, but a source familiar with Vance’s plans said he will no longer travel to the summit.
“It is a total disgrace that the G20 will be held in South Africa,” Trump wrote on his social media site, citing “abuses” of Afrikaners, including violence, death, and confiscation of land and farms.
The Trump administration has long accused South Africa of allowing minority white Afrikaner farmers to be persecuted. As it limited U.S. refugee admissions to 7,500 this year, the administration indicated most would be white South Africans claiming to face discrimination and violence.
South African officials have disputed the claims. President Cyril Ramaphosa said he told Trump the allegations about Afrikaner discrimination are “completely false,” noting that white residents generally enjoy a higher standard of living than Black South Africans, more than three decades after apartheid.
Despite this, the administration has continued its criticism. Earlier this week, Trump said in a speech in Miami that South Africa should be expelled from the G20.
Earlier this year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio also boycotted a G20 meeting for foreign ministers over the agenda’s focus on diversity, inclusion, and climate change efforts.
