Cape Town — In a move that surprised few, former President Donald Trump officially announced he will not attend the G20 Summit set for November in Johannesburg, South Africa – the first time the summit will be held on the continent. Instead, Vice President JD Vance will represent the United States at the event, which also sees the U.S. taking over as the G20 presidency.
Trump’s decision comes amid ongoing tensions between the U.S. and South Africa. The U.S. president has repeatedly claimed that white farmers in South Africa are victims of a genocide, a claim strongly denied by the South African government, which says the violence affecting farmers is not racially motivated. These unfounded allegations have soured diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Speaking from the White House Oval Office, Trump told reporters: “I won’t be going this year. It’s in South Africa. JD [Vance] will be going. He’s a great Vice President, and he looks forward to it.”
Trump’s decision came despite South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s efforts earlier this year to engage with Trump and negotiate before the U.S. administration’s reciprocal tariffs took effect.
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The G20, a group consisting of 19 countries plus the European and African Unions, brings together the world’s largest economies to discuss global economic policies. This year’s summit in Johannesburg, hosted by South Africa, has the theme Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability.
Trump, however, used the occasion to announce that the 2026 G20 Summit will be held at his Miami golf resort, Trump National Doral. “We will be hosting the G20 in Florida next year,” he said. “It’s going to be a fantastic event in beautiful Miami.”
South African officials have welcomed Vance’s participation and said the success of the summit lies in substantive discussions rather than the presence of any single leader.
“… the US can assign anyone that President Trump deems necessary, and we look forward to interacting with him on the platforms of the G20… we believe that the G20 will still be able to produce the ambitious outcomes. We don’t want to be in any conspirational or second-guessing,” South Africa’s International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola said while attending the funeral of Ambassador Mninwa Johannes Mahlangu in Mpumalanga.
