Trump’s G20 Ban Threat on South Africa Triggers Global Backlash

Relations between Pretoria and Washington reached a boiling point this week after US President Donald Trump announced that South Africa would be barred from the 2026 G20 Summit and face the immediate termination of all US financial support.

The announcement triggered widespread condemnation from political leaders, diplomats, and civil society organisations who insist that South Africa remains a legitimate and equal member of the G20.

The FW de Klerk Foundation issued a firm statement on Thursday, stressing that South Africa is a sovereign participant in the G20 and “will not be bullied out of global forums by misinformation”.

Issued by senior researcher Ismail Joosub, the statement directly challenged Trump’s rationale for the punitive measures—claims that the South African government allegedly ignores “horrific human rights abuses endured by Afrikaners and other descendants”.

Trump had earlier posted on Truth Social that South Africa was “killing white people and randomly allowing their farms to be taken from them”, allegations that have circulated on fringe platforms for years.

The FW de Klerk Foundation dismissed the claims as “wholly false allegations” and a “torrent of disinformation”, insisting that assertions of “genocide” or state-sanctioned land seizures have no factual basis.

“These statements are not only factually incorrect; they are diplomatically untenable,” the Foundation said. “G20 membership is not determined by the host country, and no single state—including the United States—has the authority to unilaterally expel another.”

The organisation emphasised that the G20 operates as a consensus-driven multilateral forum rather than “a private convention where invitations can be withdrawn on a whim”.

Former Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal also weighed in on X (formerly Twitter), accusing Trump of attempting to “decimate the G20”.

“The US is only presiding over the G20 next year. It does not have the authority to unilaterally exclude any member from participation,” Sibal wrote.

He added that Trump was “abusing” the term genocide “very selectively”, noting that the remarks carried an overt racial undertone.