Trump still unsure if he wants to attend the G20 in South Africa

US President Donald Trump has said he may skip the G20 Summit hosted in South Africa later this year.

“I think maybe I’ll send somebody else, because I’ve had a lot of problems with South Africa,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, faulting the country for what he said were some “very bad policies.”

G20 leaders’ summits bring together the heads of state or government from the world’s major economies, including both developed and emerging markets.

These summits are not limited to the core G20 member countries, such as the United States, China, Germany and India, but also extend invitations to additional countries at the discretion of the host nation.

2025 is the first year that a summit is due to be hosted on the African continent, and the fourth consecutive one in a country considered part of the Global South.

Trump has repeatedly criticised both South Africa’s domestic and foreign policies, taking aim at its land reform efforts and its legal action against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

In February, Trump issued an executive order to cut US financial aid to South Africa.

During a White House meeting in May, he confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with discredited claims about white genocide and unlawful land seizures.

Relations have also been tested by South Africa’s Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policies.

Trump has been a vocal opponent of these measures, while Ramaphosa has dismissed claims that land reform will lead to arbitrary seizures of white-owned property.

The US President has also been a vocal critic of BRICS, the 10-member bloc of emerging economies that includes South Africa, framing its interests as adversarial to the US.

The US, the world’s largest economy and the inaugural host of the G20 back in 2008, has largely snubbed South Africa’s host year, declining to send top officials to ministerial gatherings.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent skipped the G20 again earlier this month, continuing a boycott of South Africa by top US officials begun by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Despite the tensions, Ramaphosa has encouraged Trump to attend the upcoming G20 leaders’ summit.

The United States is scheduled to take over the rotating presidency of the G20 at the end of November, and will host its next leaders’ summit in 2026.