KIGALI, Rwanda
US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that South Africa will not be invited to the 2026 G20 summit in Florida, citing the country’s refusal to hand off the G20 presidency to a US Embassy representative.
Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump justified his decision to not attend the recent G20 summit in South Africa by accusing the African nation of refusing “to acknowledge or address the horrific human rights abuses endured by Afrikaners and other descendants of Dutch, French and German settlers.”
He asserted that the government is “killing white people and randomly allowing their farms to be taken from them.”
The South African government has consistently rejected the claims, saying they rest on a “factually inaccurate” premise.
Trump also criticized South Africa’s conduct at the 2025 summit, noting the country “refused to hand off the G20 Presidency to a senior representative from our U.S. Embassy.” He said that South Africa “will not be receiving an invitation” to the 2026 summit in Miami, Florida.
Trump said South Africa has demonstrated to the world that it is “not a country worthy of membership anywhere” and announced a stop to “all payments and subsidies to them, effective immediately.”
Responding to the comments, South Africa described Trump’s statement barring its participation in the 2026 G20 meetings as “regrettable.”
A statement issued by the president’s office stressed that South Africa is a member of the G20 in its own name and right, whose G20 membership is at the behest of all other members.
South Africa, the statement said, is a sovereign constitutional democratic country and does not appreciate insults from another country about its worth in participating in global platforms.
The statement reaffirmed the country’s commitment to participating as a full, active and constructive member of the G20.
It also stated that since the US was not present at the summit, instruments of the G20 Presidency were duly handed over to a US Embassy official at the headquarters of South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation.
“We call on members of the G20 to reaffirm its continued operation in the spirit of multilateralism, based on consensus, with all members participating on an equal footing in all of its structures.”
Trump issued Executive Order 14204 in February directing federal agencies to facilitate the resettlement of white South African Afrikaners, described as “victims of unjust racial discrimination,” and to cut US aid to South Africa.
The relationship has also suffered because of South Africa’s 2023 case against US ally Israel at the International Court of Justice for its genocidal conduct in Gaza.
“It is regrettable that despite the efforts and numerous attempts by President (Cyril) 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 about our country,” the statement added.
