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President Donald Trump said Friday that no U.S. officials will attend this year’s Group of 20 summit in South Africa, citing what he described as the country’s mistreatment of white farmers. Trump had previously announced he would not attend the annual gathering of leaders from the world’s major and emerging economies. Vice President JD Vance had been scheduled to represent the United States in his place, but a person familiar with Vance’s plans, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss his schedule, said he will no longer travel to the summit. “It is a total disgrace that the G20 will be held in South Africa,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, accusing the South African government of permitting “abuses” against white Afrikaner farmers, including violence and land seizures. His administration has repeatedly claimed that South Africa allows discrimination and attacks against the minority population, a charge South African officials have strongly denied. President Cyril Ramaphosa has said he told Trump that the allegations are “completely false,” pointing out that white South Africans continue to have significantly higher living standards than the country’s Black majority more than 30 years after the end of apartheid. The Trump administration, however, has maintained its criticism of South Africa. During a recent speech in Miami, Trump said the nation should be expelled from the G20, and earlier this year Secretary of State Marco Rubio boycotted a G20 foreign ministers’ meeting because its agenda focused on diversity, inclusion and climate change. The decision to skip the summit underscores growing tension between Washington and Pretoria, which have clashed over trade, human rights and South Africa’s ties to Russia and China. The G20 summit is scheduled to take place later this month in Johannesburg. This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
