The United States President, Donald Trump, has unleashed a sweeping diplomatic strike on South Africa after accusing its government of ignoring what he described as severe human-rights abuses targeting Afrikaners and other white minorities.
His remarks, posted on Friday on his X account, carried a fiery tone that immediately stirred global debate and set the stage for a new phase of Washington’s foreign-policy posture.
Trump said his administration deliberately stayed away from this year’s G20 Summit in South Africa, citing what he called Pretoria’s refusal to recognise or address the “horrific” conditions facing descendants of Dutch, French, and German settlers.
He argued that violent attacks, land seizures, and political hostility against white farmers were being downplayed internationally, insisting that the situation amounted to “genocide”.
The president’s comments appeared in a lengthy statement in which he accused global media organisations of ignoring the alleged abuses.
“The Fake News Media won’t issue a word against this genocide,” Trump said, claiming that outlets he labelled as “Radical Left Media” were collapsing because “the truth exposes their lies”.
According to Trump, tensions escalated further after South African officials refused to hand over the G20 presidency to a senior representative of the U.S. Embassy who attended the summit’s closing session. He described the gesture as a diplomatic slight and a breach of protocol.
He announced that, as a consequence, South Africa would not receive an invitation to the 2026 G20 Summit scheduled to take place in Miami, Florida.
Moreover, the U.S. government, he said, would immediately halt all financial support and subsidies directed to South Africa.
“South Africa has demonstrated to the world they are not a country worthy of membership anywhere,” Trump said, concluding the message with a directive that U.S. agencies enforce the withdrawal of all payments without delay.
Trump’s declaration marks one of the most confrontational steps taken by Washington against Pretoria in recent years and is expected to trigger intense diplomatic reactions globally.
The statement is likely to shape conversations on human rights, geopolitical alliances, and the evolving structure of the G20 ahead of the Miami summit.