South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has sharply criticized former US President Donald Trump’s decision to boycott the upcoming G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, saying that “boycott politics doesn’t work” and that the US’s absence will only hurt its own influence.
Trump announced that no US government official would attend the G20 meeting, set for November 22–23, citing false claims that white South Africans are being persecuted and their land illegally seized. Ramaphosa dismissed the claims as “discredited” and said Trump’s decision was “their loss,” stressing that the summit will continue successfully without US participation.
Speaking outside parliament, Ramaphosa said the United States was “giving up the very important role that they should be playing as the biggest economy in the world,” according to AFP. The South African president insisted that decisions made at the G20 will move forward with or without the US, emphasizing that “boycotting never achieves anything of great impact.”
Trump’s decision has drawn global attention and sparked debate after he claimed on social media that it was a “total disgrace” for South Africa to host the G20. He went on to allege that “Afrikaners are being killed and their farms illegally confiscated,” statements that South Africa’s government has firmly rejected as baseless.
Pretoria has reiterated that there is no evidence of any genocide or systematic persecution of white farmers and that no land has been confiscated without compensation. South African officials have described Trump’s assertions as misinformation intended to stir racial tension.
This year’s G20 Summit is historic, marking the first time the global economic forum will be hosted on African soil, with South Africa currently serving as chair. Each year, a member nation presides over the group’s agenda, with the US scheduled to take over next.
Trump is not the only leader skipping the gathering his ally, Argentina’s President Javier Milei, has also announced he will send his foreign minister instead. Still, world leaders are expected to attend in full force, reinforcing South Africa’s growing diplomatic profile on the global stage.
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