Column | The U.S. plays spoiler at the G20 as global inequality spikes

"an absence that speaks not just of Trump's distaste for complicated, multilateral gatherings, but also the White House's specific animus toward South Africa. In a social media post last week, Trump said it was a "disgrace" that South Africa was hosting the gathering, repeating the false allegations he has raised through the year about the treatment of White Afrikaner farmers in the country."

"Ahead of the G-20 leaders' summit, Ramaphosa tasked a committee of experts to present a report on the state of economic inequality around the world. Its findings were grim: A quarter of humanity (some 2.3 billion people) face moderate or severe food insecurity, compared to just 335 million in 2019; gaps in wealth have accelerated over the past quarter century, with 90 percent of the world's population living in societies shaped by high economic inequality."

Major economies convene in Johannesburg for the G-20 leaders' summit with the United States absent and the U.S. chair vacant for the first time. The U.S. absence reflects President Trump’s reluctance toward multilateral gatherings and explicit criticism of South Africa, including claims about Afrikaner farmers. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa framed the U.S. decision as a loss, while other diplomats described U.S. actions as undermining consensus. The summit arrives amid acute global crises: a new report finds about 2.3 billion people face moderate or severe food insecurity and global wealth gaps have widened significantly over the past quarter century. The report calls these outcomes a policy choice and urges stronger redistributive measures and an international response to inequality.

Read at The Washington Post