Prominent Afrikaners refuse to be 'pawns,' and hit back at Trump's claims about South Africa

""It is a total disgrace that the G20 will be held in South Africa. Afrikaners (People who are descended from Dutch settlers, and also French and German immigrants) are being killed and slaughtered, and their land and farms are being illegally confiscated," Trump posted on Truth Social over the weekend. He previously said South Africa should be kicked out of "the gs" altogether."

"He ambushed the country's president Cyril Ramaphosa during a White House visit in May falsely accusing his government of seizing white-owned land; cut aid to South Africa; his administration expelled the South African ambassador to Washington; slapped the country with 30 percent tariffs; repeated debunked far-right claims about a white genocide - and as a result prioritized Afrikaners for fast-track refugee status in the U.S. (while stopping refugee admissions from most other countries)."

"The South African government has repeatedly tried to correct the White House, providing statistics that disprove these claims for example the fact that Black people are by far the worst affected by violent crime and that whites still own the majority of commercial farmland to no avail. Now, some white Afrikaners themselves, as well as Afrikaans groups, are calling out what they say are the U.S. administration's "lies" and "falsehoods" in their name."

President Trump announced that no U.S. officials will attend the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, citing human-rights concerns. Vice President JD Vance had been expected to attend on behalf of the U.S. Trump posted claims alleging Afrikaners are being killed, slaughtered, and losing land and farms to illegal confiscation. The White House previously called for South Africa's exclusion from the G20 and enacted measures including cutting aid, expelling the South African ambassador, imposing 30% tariffs, and prioritizing Afrikaners for fast-track U.S. refugee status. The South African government provided statistics contradicting the claims, and over 40 prominent Afrikaners rejected the persecution narrative in an open letter.

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