US President Donald Trump has indicated he may boycott the upcoming G20 summit in South Africa, citing allegations of anti-white violence and land expropriation policies in the country.
In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump repeated widely debunked claims suggesting white farmers in South Africa are being targeted through state-supported violence and land seizures. “Is this where we want to be for the G20? I don’t think so!” he wrote, referencing the summit scheduled for November.
South Africa currently holds the rotating presidency of the G20 and is set to host this year’s gathering of world leaders.
Relations between Washington and Pretoria grew tense during Trump’s presidency, marked by frequent criticisms from his administration over South Africa’s land reform initiatives. When asked about Trump’s comments, a spokesperson for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said they no longer expected Trump to attend the summit.
In his post, Trump shared clips of Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema discussing land expropriation and revolutionary struggle, implying they reflect official policy. The EFF responded sharply, accusing Trump of misusing their rhetoric as an excuse to avoid global scrutiny.
“It’s clear he’s dodging international accountability after his humiliating tariff stunt,” the party said, accusing Trump of “economic genocide” through his trade policies.
The South African government dismissed the allegations as baseless, saying there is no state-sanctioned plan to seize land and rejecting the notion of “white genocide” as a conspiracy theory promoted by far-right circles.
Earlier this year, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also opted out of a G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in South Africa, citing what he described as an “anti-American agenda.”
