President Donald J. Trump announced that no U.S. government officials will attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit in South Africa, citing what he described as the killing and slaughter of Afrikaners and the illegal confiscation of their land and farms. In a post on Truth Social, Trump declared, “It is a total disgrace that the G20 will be held in South Africa. Afrikaners (People who are descended from Dutch settlers, and also French and German immigrants) are being killed and slaughtered, and their land and farms are being illegally confiscated. No U.S. Government Official will attend as long as these Human Rights abuses continue. I look forward to hosting the 2026 G20 in Miami, Florida!”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed Trump’s stance on X, stating, “Afrikaners have been continuously subjected to violent racial discrimination by the South African government. I applaud @POTUS’s decision to not waste taxpayer dollars sending our diplomats to the G20 while this heinous violence continues.”
The South African Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation responded with a media statement on August 20, 2025, rejecting Trump’s claims. “The characterisation of Afrikaners as an exclusively white group is ahistorical. Furthermore, the claim that this community faces persecution, is not substantiated by fact,” the statement read. It emphasized South Africa’s focus on hosting a successful G20 under the theme of “genuine solidarity, where shared prosperity bridges deep inequalities.”
The ministry also addressed a U.S. Presidential Determination offering refugee status to Afrikaners, calling it “fundamentally flawed.” “The claim of a ‘white genocide’ in South Africa is widely discredited and unsupported by reliable evidence,” the statement asserted, noting an open letter from prominent Afrikaners rejecting the narrative and the limited uptake of the U.S. offer as evidence of its inaccuracy.
In a follow-up statement on November 8, 2025, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) challenged the 2024 U.S. Human Rights Report’s portrayal of rural safety. Citing South African Police Service statistics for the fourth quarter of the 2024/2025 financial year (January 1 to March 31, 2025), DIRCO reported six murders in farming communities: “3 victims were employees, 1 victim was a farm dweller, 2 victims were farmers.” The statement argued, “These figures underscore that violent crime in rural areas affects everyone who lives and works on farms and related rural areas,” and rejected claims of racially motivated attacks.
DIRCO highlighted the National Rural Safety Strategy, implemented in 99% of identified rural police stations, and public-private partnerships like the Eyes and Ears (E2) program with Business Against Crime South Africa. “South Africa remains committed to a transparent and collaborative approach to addressing crime,” the statement concluded.
The African National Congress (ANC) issued a scathing response, condemning Trump’s remarks as “false, inflammatory, and racially charged.” ANC National Spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu stated, “His unfounded claims of ‘genocide’ and ‘persecution’ of white South Africans, together with his boycott of the upcoming G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, are part of a long and disgraceful pattern of imperial arrogance and disinformation.” The ANC defended South Africa’s democracy and its G20 theme of “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability,” vowing not to be “bullied, defined, or distracted by imperial nostalgia masquerading as concern.”
Kallie Kriel, leader of AfriForum, criticized the ANC’s response, stating on X, “@afriforum warned the ANC in advance that South Africa’s relationship with the USA cannot be repaired by falsely dismissing American concerns as the result of ‘misinformation.’ The reckless strategy of the ANC-led government has now failed, and the country is reaping the bitter fruits thereof.” Kriel proposed solutions, including condemning the “kill the Boer” chant, declaring farm murders a priority crime, ensuring police cooperation with farm watch groups, repealing Section 12(3) of the Expropriation Act allowing expropriation without compensation, and amending Section 19(2) to prevent expropriation before final court rulings.
The U.S. boycott has cast a shadow over the upcoming G20 Summit, with South Africa maintaining its commitment to global cooperation while rejecting foreign interference in its domestic affairs.