Who are Afrikaners, the group at the center of Trump's dispute with South Africa?

"President Trump has decided that the U.S. will completely boycott the conference over what he considers the discriminatory treatment of Afrikaners by the South African government. They are the largest subset of the country's white minority, and Afrikaners ran South Africa's government for much of the 20th century and famously oversaw the racist system of apartheid until 1994. Trump has repeated false claims that the South African government is stealing land from white farmers and that there is an ongoing "white genocide" and "extermination" of Afrikaners, even taking the unprecedented step of offering refugee status to Afrikaners who want to flee."

"South African officials including President Cyril Ramaphosa have said Trump's claims are untrue and point to official government data showing that attacks against rural Afrikaners are rare, and that the country's Black majority bear the brunt of South Africa's rampant crime. Lindie Koorts, a historian at the University of Pretoria, said the false narrative has strained some of the progress made in post-apartheid South Africa, as Afrikaners whose ancestors perpetrated apartheid adjust to being a political minority. "This is a minority that used to be protected by apartheid laws" who now don't have the same job security and other economic benefits, said Koorts, who is an Afrikaner. "It turns into something of existential dread, and that is very, very easily manipulated by the right wing.""

The United States is boycotting the G20 in South Africa over alleged discriminatory treatment of Afrikaners. President Trump has promoted false claims that the South African government is seizing land from white farmers and presiding over a "white genocide," and has offered refugee status to Afrikaners; 59 arrived in the U.S. in May. South African officials, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, cite data showing attacks on rural Afrikaners are rare while the Black majority endures most violent crime. Afrikaners descend from Dutch, German, and French colonists, governed during apartheid until 1994, and now face political minority status and economic insecurity vulnerable to manipulation by the right wing.

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