WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump said Friday that U.S. officials will not attend this year’s Group of 20 summit in South Africa because of the country’s treatment of white farmers.
President Trump had already announced that he would not attend the annual summit of leaders of the world’s major economies and emerging nations. Mr. Trump was to be replaced by Vice President J.D. Vance, but a person familiar with Mr. Vance’s plans, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Mr. Vance would no longer travel to the country for the summit.
“It is an absolute shame that the G20 is being held in South Africa,” President Trump said on his social media site. In his post, Trump cited “abuse” against Afrikaners, including violence, death, and the confiscation of their lands and farms.
The Trump administration has long accused the South African government of condoning the persecution and attacks of the white Afrikaner farmer minority. As is limited the number of refugees The administration has indicated that most of the 7,500 people who enter the United States each year will be white South Africans who face discrimination and violence at home.
But South Africa’s government said it was surprised by the discrimination accusations, more than 30 years after the end of the white-minority-ruled apartheid system, and the standard of living for white people in the country is generally much higher than for black residents.
The country’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said he had told Trump that information about allegations of discrimination and persecution against Afrikaner people was “completely false”.
Nevertheless, the administration continues to criticize the South African government. President Trump said in an economic speech in Miami earlier this week that South Africa should be removed from the Group of 20 (G20) group.
Earlier this year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio boycotted the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting Because the agenda focused on diversity, inclusion, and tackling climate change.
