WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he might skip the upcoming Group of 20 (G20) leaders’ summit in South Africa in November and send someone else to represent the United States, citing his disapproval of South African policies.
Key quote
“I think maybe I’ll send somebody else because I’ve had a lot of problems with South Africa. They have some very bad policies,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Why it’s important
Trump has taken issue with South African domestic and foreign policies - ranging from its land policy to its case accusing Israel of genocide in the U.S. ally’s war in Gaza.
Trump signed an executive order in February to cut U.S. financial assistance to South Africa. In May, Trump confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with false claims of white genocide and land seizures during a White House meeting.
Earlier this year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio also boycotted a G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in South Africa, which has the G20 presidency from December 2024 to November 2025.
Tense ties
Washington, both under Trump and former President Joe Biden, has complained about the case brought by South Africa at the International Court of Justice, where it accused Israel of genocide over its military assault in Gaza.
Israel’s assault has killed tens of thousands, caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza’s entire population and also led to accusations of war crimes at the International Criminal Court.
Israel denies the accusations and casts its Gaza offensive as self-defense after a deadly October 2023 Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people and in which over 250 were taken hostage.
Diplomatic relations between the U.S. and South Africa have also been strained under Trump due to South Africa’s Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policies to address the legacy of centuries of racial inequality.
Ramaphosa, who has urged Trump to attend the G20 summit, rejects Washington’s claims that South Africa will use its land policy to arbitrarily confiscate white-owned land.
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