Key Takeaways:
- Donald Trump has publicly denounced South Africa’s hosting of the G20 summit.
- Trump is falsely claiming that white South Africans are victims of a "genocide" and land confiscation.
- No US government officials will attend the G20 summit in South Africa.
- Tensions between the US and South Africa stem from new legislation in South Africa addressing land ownership disparities.
- The US has granted asylum to white South Africans, citing racial discrimination.
Summary:
Donald Trump has launched a scathing critique of South Africa, deeming it a "disgrace" that the nation is set to host the G20 summit. In a message posted on his Truth Social platform, Trump reiterated debunked claims that white South Africans, specifically Afrikaners, are being subjected to a "genocide" and having their land illegally confiscated. As a result of this, Trump declared that no US government officials would attend the upcoming G20 summit in South Africa. He further promoted his plan to host the 2026 G20 in Miami, Florida.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims about the persecution of white South Africans. These assertions have been refuted by both the South African government and Afrikaner officials. Trump’s stance has created tensions between the US and South Africa, particularly after President Cyril Ramaphosa introduced new legislation aimed at addressing historical land ownership disparities. This legislation seeks to facilitate land expropriation to redress the imbalance where the white minority still owns a disproportionate amount of private land.
While Ramaphosa maintains that the new law does not equate to confiscation, as it establishes a framework for fair redistribution allowing authorities to take land without compensation only in exceptional circumstances, Trump has accused South Africa of "confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY". He stated that the United States would not tolerate such actions and threatened to intervene.
In May, the Trump administration granted asylum to 59 white South Africans as part of a resettlement program, justifying it by citing racial discrimination. The same month, during a meeting with President Ramaphosa at the White House, Trump surprised him with the claim that a "genocide" was taking place against white Afrikaners in South Africa.
Ramaphosa firmly refuted these allegations, emphasizing the presence of prominent white South Africans, including professional golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, and the country’s wealthiest individual, Johann Rupert, as evidence against such claims.
South African historian Saul Dubow, a professor at the University of Cambridge, has dismissed Trump’s claims as "fantasy," stating there is no evidence of a "white genocide." Dubow suggested that Trump’s anger may be fueled by South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice over its war on Gaza.
Despite the widespread refutation of Trump’s claims, the Trump administration has continued to maintain its stance of widespread persecution. The White House has indicated that most new refugees admitted to the US will be white South Africans, while simultaneously reducing the annual refugee intake to just 7,500.
According to the White House, the refugee admissions numbers will primarily be allocated among Afrikaners from South Africa pursuant to Executive Order 14204 and other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands. This has caused a great divide between the US and South Africa and has caused much controversy across the globe.
