Why did Trump bar South Africa from participating in next year’s G20 Summit in Miami?

US President Donald Trump has declared that South Africa will not receive an invitation to the 2026 G20 Summit, which the United States is set to host in Miami next year. The announcement marks a sharp escalation in tensions between Washington and Pretoria, following the US decision to skip this year’s G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg.

In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump accused the South African government of ignoring alleged human rights violations against white farmers, repeating claims that have long been dismissed by the South African government and community groups.

He wrote, “To put it more bluntly, they are killing white people, and randomly allowing their farms to be taken from them,” asserting that “Afrikaners, and other descendants of Dutch, French, and German settlers” were facing abuses.

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US absence from Johannesburg Summit

This year’s G20 meeting, the first ever hosted in Africa, was attended by leaders from across the world, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The United States, however, chose not to send a delegation.

Trump in his post, again emphasised that US skipped the summit because South Africa was persecuting white Afrikaners, a claim Pretoria categorically refutes.

The dispute deepened when Trump alleged that South Africa refused to hand over the G20 presidency to the senior US Embassy representative present at the venue. In his social media post, he wrote, “Therefore, at my direction, South Africa will NOT be receiving an invitation to the 2026 G20, which will be hosted in the Great City of Miami, Florida next year.”

South Africa’s Presidency pushed back, saying the G20 gavel was handed over correctly but at the Foreign Ministry headquarters, as the United States was not physically present at the summit venue.

Responding to Trump’s announcement, President Cyril Ramaphosa described the decision as “regrettable,” noting that South Africa had worked consistently to strengthen ties with Washington.

In an official statement, Ramaphosa’s office said Trump was acting on misinformation and “continues to apply punitive measures against South Africa based on misinformation and distortions about our country.”

The government also dismissed Trump’s repeated claims of a genocide of white farmers, arguing that crime affects all communities and that no government sanctioned land seizures targeting Afrikaners exist.

Since returning to office, Trump has increasingly targeted South Africa, criticising its diplomatic engagements with China, Russia, and Iran. The administration has also tightened its refugee programme, reserving most new slots for white South Africans. Last month, the US cut annual refugee admissions to 7,500, with Trump previously welcoming a group of 59 white South Africans in May.

The controversy comes as the United States takes over the rotating G20 presidency, leaving unclear whether the Johannesburg declaration that focused heavily on priorities for developing nations will have lasting impact, given Washington’s decision not to sign it.

Afrikaners, descended primarily from Dutch, French, and German settlers, remain a small but historic community in South Africa. Although some were central to the apartheid system, others resisted it, and many have since integrated into the country’s post apartheid political landscape.

As Washington prepares to host the 2026 G20 in Miami, Trump’s latest move signals that the geopolitical divide between the two nations may only widen in the months ahead.