By Daanyaal Matthews
United States President Donald Trump has further strained relations with the Republic following a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, in which he reiterated misinformation by claiming that white South Africans are being specifically targeted for their land—further fueling the illusion of a ‘white genocide.’
This rhetoric has raised questions about whether the Western leader will attend the upcoming G20 summit. The United States has repeatedly passed up opportunities to strengthen relations with South Africa ahead of the meeting—most notably, Secretary of State Marc Rubio did not attend the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in February.
Speaking on VOC NewsBeat, former U.S. diplomat and journalist J. Brooks Spector theorized that Trump may attend in person to generate media attention, or he might participate virtually. However, the most likely scenario, according to Spector, is that he will send Vice President JD Vance in his place.
“He will make a determination that he won’t come, but he will send the vice president instead to demonstrate that yes, it is an important meeting, but he won’t sully himself by attending,” theorized Spector.
Spector added that economic uncertainty in the United States, exacerbated by Trump’s proposed tariff plans, may influence the decision to delegate the trip to Vance, under the premise that Trump needs to focus on domestic issues.
“That’s why I say that there’s that option where he says he is dealing with the fallout of real issues and real problems, and he cannot take the time out to go all the way there, but he will send his vice president,” suggested Spector.
Listen to the full interview here:
