Trump accuses South Africa of pursuing ‘extermination’ policies

U.S. President Donald Trump doubled down on his decision to boycott the upcoming G20 Summit in Johannesburg, accusing South Africa of pursuing “policies on the extermination of people” and insisting the country has “behaved extremely badly.”

The remarks, made alongside Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, mark the latest escalation in a rapidly deteriorating relationship between Washington and Pretoria, which has held the G20 presidency since December 2024.

Trump again invoked his allegations of a systemic targeting of Afrikaner farmers, something the South African government has strongly denied, declaring:

“I’m not going to South Africa for the G20 because I think their policies on the extermination of people are unacceptable… South Africa has behaved extremely badly.”

His comments were triggered by a question on US efforts to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to third countries, including South Africa, a proposal Pretoria has denounced as an attempt to “cleanse Gaza of its people.”

Trump then pivoted, linking South Africa’s opposition to the relocation plan to his longstanding grievances with the nation.

This includes the country’s expropriation without compensation agenda and Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policies, which have been argued by critics as being discriminatory against white South Africans.

This is not the first time Trump has deployed such rhetoric against Pretoria.

In May 2025, during a tense White House meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa, Trump confronted him with footage purportedly showing attacks on white farmers.

Some of the material later confirmed by fact-checkers to originate from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

By July, Trump was openly threatening to skip the November 22–23 summit.

On November 7, he announced a full U.S. boycott, barring American officials from attending and calling for South Africa’s expulsion from the G20.

On Truth Social, he declared: “It is a total disgrace that the G20 will be held in South Africa,” repeating allegations of mass killings and unlawful land seizures.

Pretoria dismisses claims

South Africa has dismissed the claims as inflammatory and baseless. Ramaphosa, speaking in Cape Town last week, said the summit would proceed without U.S. participation under the theme.

“We will take fundamental decisions and their absence is their loss,” he said, adding that the world’s largest economy was sidelining itself at a crucial geopolitical moment.

Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya echoed this confidence, expressing optimism about hosting a productive summit focused on reforming multilateral development banks and addressing global economic inequities.

Still, the boycott has already cast a shadow over preparatory meetings, with U.S. delegates drawing “red lines” on issues such as global health equity and climate finance.

Earlier this year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio skipped the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting, citing “bad things” in South Africa and objecting to the summit’s focus.

In February, Trump signed an executive order cutting U.S. aid to South Africa—an action critics say is retaliation for Pretoria’s case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.

Trump has also pledged refugee status for white South African farmers since May, drawing criticism for racial favoritism.

South Africa’s G20 tenure concludes as the U.S. prepares to host the summit in Miami in 2026, where Trump has vowed to restore what he calls a more “fair” agenda.

South Africa will hand over the presidency to an empty seat, with Washington openly pushing for nations to reject the leaders’ declaration for 2025.