U.S. top diplomat Marco Rubio announced late Wednesday he would not attend a meeting of the G20 in South Africa, as U.S. President Donald Trump and his top adviser Elon Musk take on its government.
“South Africa is doing very bad things. Expropriating private property. Using G20 to promote ‘solidarity, equality, & sustainability.’ In other words: DEI and climate change,” Rubio railed on social media.
“My job is to advance America’s national interests, not waste taxpayer money or coddle anti-Americanism,” he added.
Late last month, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a law that allows the state to seize land without compensation in some circumstances to address racial and other disparities in land ownership, which sparked rapid backlash from inside the White House.
On Monday, Ramaphosa hit back at Trump’s vow to cut off American funding to his country, after the U.S. president claimed South Africa was taking land from “certain classes of people.”
Musk, who was born in South Africa, poured fuel on the fire, asking Ramaphosa on social media: “Why do you have openly racist ownership laws?”
The foreign ministers of the G20, an international organization focusing on economic cooperation,will meet on Feb. 20 and 21 in Johannesburg.
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