Trump Disinvites South Africa From 2026 G20 Summit

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resident Donald Trump said on Wednesday that South Africa will not be invited to the 2026 G20 summit in Miami, escalating tensions with Pretoria over what he claims is the country’s failure to protect white citizens — allegations repeatedly rejected by South African officials and contradicted by national crime data.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said South Africa had “demonstrated to the world they are not a country worthy of membership anywhere,” adding that the United States would halt all payments and subsidies to Pretoria “effective immediately.”

The move follows a month of strained exchanges between the two countries after the United States boycotted the annual G20 leaders’ meeting, held this year in Johannesburg. Trump has accused South Africa of enabling what he has described as “genocide” against white farmers, a narrative promoted for years by some conservative commentators but not supported by empirical evidence.

Diplomatic rift widens

Relations deteriorated further during the close of the Johannesburg summit when Washington attempted to send a representative from its embassy — rather than the president — to accept the ceremonial gavel handover. South Africa rejected the move as a diplomatic slight, calling it a breach of long-standing G20 protocol.

Trump responded by withdrawing the country’s invitation to the 2026 summit, which he plans to host at his Miami property.

The Trump administration has increasingly leaned into claims that South Africa’s white minority faces systemic discrimination. Earlier this year, the U.S. granted refugee status to dozens of white South Africans while reducing admissions from other regions, a move that drew criticism from rights groups and immigration analysts.

Elon Musk, the South African–born technology entrepreneur who has emerged as one of Trump’s closest advisers, has also amplified allegations of anti-white violence in the country.

However, official crime statistics do not support the administration’s assertions. South Africa recorded around 27,000 murders in the past year, with killings of white farmers representing less than 1 percent of the total. Independent analysts note that rural communities of all races face high levels of violent crime.

When Trump pressed the issue during an Oval Office meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa in May — even displaying videos he said proved a “genocide” was underway — Ramaphosa dismissed the claims.

“I’d like to know where that is, because this I’ve never seen,” he replied, according to U.S. officials briefed on the meeting.

White house rhetoric hardens

Despite the pushback, Trump doubled down in his posts this week, accusing South Africa’s government of refusing to address “horrific Human Rights Abuses endured by Afrikaners, and other descendants of Dutch, French, and German settlers.”

“To put it more bluntly, they are killing white people, and randomly allowing their farms to be taken from them,” Trump wrote online.

South African officials have not yet issued a formal response to the disinvitation but have previously condemned similar accusations as “misinformation” that undermines bilateral ties.

With the U.S. set to assume the G20 presidency in 2026, South Africa’s exclusion marks an unprecedented step for the forum, which typically invites both members and select non-members to foster global cooperation on economic policy.

(Source: Reuters)