Trump signals US will skip South Africa G20 over land claims

Ntando Thukwana, Bloomberg News on Apr 12, 2025

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U.S. President Donald Trump signaled the country will continue boycotting group of 20 meetings in South Africa, repeating unsubstantiated claims that white farmers are being killed and their land confiscated.

“How could we be expected to go to South Africa for the very important G20 Meeting when Land Confiscation and Genocide is the primary topic of conversation?” he posted on his Truth social media account. “They are taking the land of white Farmers, and then killing them and their families.”

Relations between South Africa and its second-largest trading partner have soured since Trump accused the nation of unlawfully seizing land from the white minority. Authorities haven’t confiscated any private land since apartheid ended in 1994, though Trump has still frozen aid to the nation.

Chrispin Phiri, a spokesman for South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation, said the nation’s constitution protects all living in the country.

“Not because they are Black, not because they are white, not because they are in the majority, not because they are in the minority, but because they are human beings, every person has fundamental rights,” he said via text message.

South Africa hosts the G20 leaders’ summit in November, where it is set to hand over the presidency to the U.S. But top U.S. officials have avoided events this year. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in February skipped a meeting of finance ministers and central bankers in Cape Town. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also skipped a foreign ministers meeting in Johannesburg.

“South Africa is doing very bad things. Expropriating private property. Using G20 to promote ‘solidarity, equality, & sustainability,’ Rubio said in a post on X at the time. “In other words: DEI and climate change.”

In his posting, Trump referred to “they” taking the land of white farmers, without further reference. He said that the media “refuses” to report on this.

South Africa is the first country on the continent to hold the G20 presidency.