The US government has long accused South Africa of allowing the persecution and attacks of white South African farmers. On Friday, Donald Trump said no member of his administration would attend this year’s G20 summit in South Africa, citing the alleged mistreatment of white farmers. He had already announced he would not attend the annual gathering of leaders from the world’s major and emerging economies.
US stance and refugee policy
J. D. Vance had been scheduled to go in his place, but according to an anonymous source, the US vice-president will also not be present at the summit.
“It is utterly shameful that the G20 will be held in South Africa,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. In his post, he referred to “abuses” against white farmers, including violence and killings, as well as the seizure of their land and farms.
Trump’s administration has for some time accused the South African government of enabling the persecution and attacks on white farmers. As the administration reduced the annual refugee admissions cap to 7,500, it argued that most of those accepted would be white South Africans who, it claimed, face discrimination and violence in their country.
South Africa’s response
The South African government said it was surprised by the discrimination allegations, noting that white citizens generally enjoy a much higher standard of living than Black residents, more than three decades after the end of apartheid. President Cyril Ramaphosa said he had informed Trump that reports of alleged discrimination and persecution of white South Africans were “completely untrue.”
Despite Pretoria’s denials, the US administration has continued to criticise the South African government. Earlier this week, during an economics speech in Miami, Trump said South Africa should be expelled from the G20.
Source: The Guardian