Trump threatens to boycott G20 summit

US President Donald Trump is now threatening to boycott the G20 Leaders’ Summit in South Africa (SA) later this year. Trump has already cancelled billions in aid funding to SA, signed an executive order alleging human rights violations, and increased trade tariffs to the country. Taking to his Truth Social platform, Trump again claimed that SA is confiscating land and committing genocide. ‘How could we be expected to go to SA for the very important G20 meeting when land confiscation and genocide are the primary topics of conversation? They are taking the land of white farmers, and then killing them and their families. The media refuses to report on this. The US has held back all contributions to SA. Is this where we want to be for the G20? I don’t think so.’ The Citizen reports that Trump has been vocal about SA’s newly signed Expropriation Act, claiming the government is ‘confiscating land and treating certain classes of people very badly’. The claims have been denied by SA President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Ministers. The Department of International Relations & Co-operation said the foundational premise of February’s executive order ‘lacks factual accuracy and fails to recognise SA’s profound and painful history of colonialism and apartheid’. ‘We are concerned by what seems to be a campaign of misinformation and propaganda aimed at misrepresenting our great nation. It is disappointing to observe that such narratives seem to have found favour among decision-makers in the USA,’ the department added.

Full report in The Citizen