Trump Snubs G20 Summit, Says South Africa “No Longer Deserves” Its Place

A decision by US President Donald Trump to skip the upcoming G20 summit in Johannesburg has triggered fresh diplomatic tensions, after he claimed that South Africa “no longer deserves” a seat among the world’s leading economies.

Addressing business leaders at the American Business Forum in Miami, he remarked that “South Africa shouldn’t even be in the G’s anymore; the situation there has deteriorated badly.” PulseNets obtained information confirming that Vice President J.D. Vance will represent Washington at the summit slated for November 22–23.

Trump’s latest comments, PulseNets learnt, continue a pattern of sharp criticism directed at the South African government. He has repeatedly condemned Pretoria’s land reform agenda, alleging it targets white farmers and constitutes what he has previously labelled “major human rights abuses.”

Earlier this year, he issued an executive order slashing US aid to South Africa and launching a resettlement programme for white Afrikaners in the United States — a group he described as victims of “deep and unfair discrimination.”

Officials in Pretoria have consistently pushed back against Trump’s assertions, calling them “misleading” and grounded in a distorted understanding of South Africa’s land redistribution efforts. The government maintains that ongoing reforms are designed to correct apartheid-era inequalities rather than penalise any racial community.

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PulseNets reported that South Africa’s presence in the G20 has long symbolised its continental leadership and its status as Africa’s most advanced economy. Trump’s refusal to attend the summit — coupled with remarks questioning the country’s place in the bloc — is expected to heighten diplomatic friction at a moment when ties between Washington and Pretoria are already strained.