U.S. President Donald Trump has announced he will not attend the upcoming 2025 G20 Johannesburg Summit in South Africa and has sharply criticised host nation South Africa for what he described as “very bad policies,” escalating diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
Trump’s comments, which surfaced in recent remarks and a social-media post, targeted South Africa’s land-reform laws and alleged mistreatment of the white minority. He questioned the country’s suitability as a G20 host and suggested he would send a lower-level delegate instead of attending in person. “I think maybe I’ll send somebody else because I’ve had a lot of problems with South Africa,” he said earlier this year.
The G20 summit, scheduled for November 22-23 in Johannesburg under the theme “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability”, is set to be the first time the gathering of world leaders would be held on African soil. Trump’s decision to boycott the summit comes amid deeper rifts between Washington and Pretoria over land-expropriation policies, South Africa’s alignment with the BRICS bloc and its independent foreign-policy posture.
South Africa’s response has been firm. President Cyril Ramaphosa stated in February that the country “will not be bullied” and resisted Trump’s characterisation of its domestic policies. Pretoria argues the U.S. claims lack basis in evidence.
Diplomatic observers note that Trump’s absence—coupled with the earlier directive from the U.S. National Security Council barring American agencies from participating in the summit—could dramatically reduce U.S. influence at a gathering expected to address global economics, climate and development.
