Trump states he will not attend the G20 meeting unless South Africa addresses the alleged ‘genocide’ of white Afrikaners

United States (US) President Donald Trump has stated that he will not travel to South Africa for the G20 leaders’ summit in November unless the country addresses what he believes to be a genocide of white Afrikaners2.

On Monday, International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola confirmed that all G20 leaders have been invited to attend, leaving the decision to participate up to them.

However, just hours later, speaking at a White House press conference, Trump expressed doubt about his attendance. The US is set to assume the presidency of the G20 from South Africa at the end of year.

Trump’s cabinet has been boycotting meetings in response to his claims that “bad things” are happening in South Africa, including land expropriation and violence against white South Africans2.

“South African leadership is coming to see me, I understand, sometime next week, and we are supposed to have a G20 meeting there or something. I don’t know how we can go unless that situation is taken care of,” Trump stated.

Trump also referenced the arrival of 49 white Afrikaners in the US on Monday, claiming they fled South Africa due to persecution.

“People who live in South Africa say it’s a terrible situation taking place, so we’ve essentially extended citizenship to those people to escape that violence and come here,” he added.

South African officials, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, have denied these claims, stating that there is no evidence of genocide against white Afrikaners.