Marco Rubio to Skip G20 Meeting in South Africa After Calling Country Anti-American

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will skip a two-day meeting of foreign ministers from the G20 international forum that starts on Feb. 20 after criticizing host South Africa's policies as anti-American.

The move comes nearly two weeks after President Donald Trump signed an executive order stopping all aid to South Africa over what he called a human rights violation against a white minority group.

Earlier this month, Rubio posted on X that he would also be skipping the main G20 summit in Johannesburg later this year, stating that South Africa was using the forum to promote solidarity, equality and sustainability frameworks. "In other words: DEI and climate change," Rubio wrote.

"My job is to advance America's national interests, not waste taxpayer money or coddle anti-Americanism," he added.

As the Associated Press reports, a G20 meeting would normally be seen as an opportunity for a U.S. secretary of state to get support from representatives from the world's major economies. And although Rubio will not be attending, the U.S. will still be represented by a lower-level delegation.

Rubio's absence from the meeting reflects the stance taken by the Trump administration when it comes to foreign policy. Earlier this month, President Trump punished South Africa for signing a law that allows the government to acquire property for public purposes or in the public interest.

The legislation aims to address historical land ownership disparities in South Africa, but Trump says it is "blatantly" discriminatory against white Afrikaners, a group who are descendants of Dutch and other European countries and own approximately 70% of the country's private farming land.

Trump has said the South African government was doing "terrible things" and claimed land was being confiscated from "certain classes," referring to white Afrikaners. His executive order stopped hundreds of millions of dollars a year the U.S. gave South Africa, most of it to help with the country's HIV/AIDS response.

Despite Rubio's absence, South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said on Feb. 19 that the U.S. would be represented "in one form or shape or another" during the meeting and stressed that Rubio's decision was "not a complete boycott of South Africa's G20" by the U.S.