Why Trump Skipped Johannesburg G20 And Then Disinvited South Africa From The 2026 Summit

Last Updated:December 01, 2025, 11:48 IST

Trump boycotted the Johannesburg summit, accusing South Africa of 'killing white people', and later said the country will not be receiving an invitation to the G20 Miami summit.

Trump had already made clear he would not participate, framing the decision as a protest against the South African government. (Image: REUTERS)

The diplomatic rupture between the United States and South Africa has entered an unprecedented phase after US President Donald Trump boycotted last month’s G20 summit in Johannesburg and then declared that South Africa “will not be receiving an invitation" to the 2026 G20 in Miami. Trump said he took these steps because the South African government is allowing violent abuses against white Afrikaners, allegations the South African presidency strongly rejected.

Johannesburg hosted the G20 on 22 and 23 November, marking the first time the summit has been held on African soil. While 42 countries attended, the United States was the only G20 member without senior government representation. Only a representative from the US embassy was sent in a ceremonial role as the next host country.

Trump had already made clear he would not participate, framing the decision as a protest against the South African government.

Why Trump Boycotted This Year’s G20 In South Africa

Trump explained his decision in a series of posts on his social media platform, Truth Social. He accused the South African government of failing to confront what he described as “horrific Human Rights abuses" endured by white Afrikaners and “other descendants of Dutch, French, and German settlers". He said: “To put it more bluntly, they are killing white people, and randomly allowing their farms to be taken from them."

He also claimed that “Afrikaners are being killed and slaughtered, and their land and farms are being illegally confiscated". According to him, “the United States did not attend the G20 in South Africa because the South African Government refuses to acknowledge or address" these alleged abuses.

Trump’s criticism extended to US media outlets. He wrote: “Perhaps, worst of all, the soon to be out of business New York Times and the Fake News Media won’t issue a word against this genocide." South Africa has repeatedly denied the charge.

Trump had also called the Johannesburg summit “a total disgrace", saying: “No US Government Official will attend as long as these Human Rights abuses continue."

How The G20 Handover Became Part Of The Dispute

G20 custom dictates that the outgoing host symbolically hands the presidency to the incoming one, usually during the closing session. In keeping with this practice, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa formally closed the summit by saying: “This gavel of this G20 summit formally closes this summit and now moves on to the next president of the G20, which is the United States, where we shall see each other again next year."

Trump, however, claimed that Ramaphosa “refused to hand off the G20 Presidency" to a senior representative from the US embassy who attended the closing session. This allegation became part of his justification for attempting to exclude South Africa from the Miami summit.

South Africa provided a different account. Ramaphosa later wrote that since senior US officials had not attended the summit, “the gavel and other instruments of the G20 Presidency" were handed to a US embassy official at the headquarters of the Department of Relations and Cooperation.

This disagreement became the second point of friction leading to Trump’s next major announcement.

Following the Johannesburg summit, Trump announced, “At my direction, South Africa will not be receiving an invitation to the 2026 G20, which will be hosted in the great city of Miami, Florida next year." He added that “South Africa has demonstrated to the world they are not a country worthy of Membership anywhere, and we are going to stop all payments and subsidies to them, effective immediately."

How South Africa Responded To Trump’s Disinvitation

South Africa rejected Trump’s announcement in unambiguous terms. In an official statement, the presidency said: “South Africa is a member of the G20 in its own name and right. Its G20 membership is at the behest of all other members."

It added that South Africa “does not appreciate insults from another country about its worth in participating in global platforms" and said it was “regrettable that despite the efforts and numerous attempts by President Ramaphosa and his administration to reset the diplomatic relationship with the US, President Trump continues to apply punitive measures against South Africa based on misinformation and distortions".

Ramaphosa said South Africa would continue participating as “a full, active and constructive member" of the G20. Asked about the US decision not to attend the Johannesburg summit, he said: “Their absence is their loss."

Ramaphosa’s spokesman, Vincent Magwenya, told the BBC that G20 members “should by now accept there won’t be a reset of the relationship" and said that if visas are denied for next year’s meeting, “we will have to move on and look beyond the G20 in the US."

Can The US Really Bar South Africa From G20?

There is no formal mechanism allowing one G20 member to exclude another. The grouping was established in 1999 as an informal platform for major economies to discuss global economic issues. Membership changes or exclusions require consensus, and no country has been barred from attending a summit.

Even in 2022, when then-US President Joe Biden said Russia should be excluded over its invasion of Ukraine, Russia still participated through its foreign minister.

While Trump cannot legally expel South Africa from the G20, he does have leverage as host. Trump could deny visas to South African officials, which would prevent them from travelling to Miami and participating in person. This would not constitute a legal removal from the G20 but would achieve a form of de facto exclusion.

CNN has reported that the US may seek to invite Poland to next year’s summit as a guest. Poland’s finance minister has said the country’s “aspirations to join the G20 are entirely justified". However, making Poland a permanent member would require unanimous agreement from all G20 members, and South Africa’s removal would require the same.

What Trump Means By ‘White Genocide’

Trump’s confrontation with South Africa is rooted in a long-standing allegation that white farmers, especially Afrikaners, are being targeted for murder and land seizure. This claim has circulated for years in parts of the South African white minority and in far-right online spaces. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has also amplified the allegation.

Trump has repeatedly said “they are killing white people" and that their farms “are being illegally confiscated". He tied the allegation to South Africa’s Expropriation Act, and his executive order said the country’s policies dismantled “equal opportunity in employment, education, and business" and caused “disproportionate violence against racially disfavoured landowners". The order also condemned South Africa’s decision to bring a genocide case against Israel at the Court of Justice.

The allegation has influenced policy. Trump cut US foreign aid to South Africa, a decision public health experts warned could affect HIV programmes. He offered to resettle Afrikaners in the US, and 59 white South Africans arrived as refugees in May. He later announced a refugee cap of 7,500 for the 2026 fiscal year, with priority for white South Africans.

What The Data Shows

Crime statistics from South African police data do not support a pattern of targeted killings of white farmers. According to those figures, South Africa recorded 26,232 murders in 2024, of which 44 were linked to farming communities and eight victims were farmers. White farmers account for under 1 per cent of the country’s roughly 27,000 annual murders.

In the final quarter of 2024, a dozen murders took place on farms across the country. The white minority continues to own a majority of private land, and land restitution cases have typically involved court proceedings rather than seizures.

Gareth Newham, who heads a justice and violence prevention programme at the Institute for Security Studies in South Africa, told PBS: “If there was any evidence of either a genocide or targeted violence taking place against any group based on their ethnicity, we would be amongst the first to raise the alarm and provide the evidence to the world." He said the primary motive for most attacks is robbery.

What The Feud Means Going Forward

South Africa, which is the United States’ second-largest single-country trading partner after China, has been attempting to manage a deteriorating diplomatic relationship for months.

According to the Office of the US Trade Representative, goods and services trade between the two countries reached about $26.2 billion in 2024. But the political relationship is at its lowest point in years.

Earlier this year, the US expelled South Africa’s ambassador and labelled him persona non grata. Trump also signed the “Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa" Executive Order, cut foreign aid, and reshaped refugee policy around the allegation that white South Africans face persecution.

The question now is whether South African officials will be granted visas to attend the G20 Miami summit.

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