Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday announced that he would skip the G-20 summit in Johannesburg later this year amid tensions with South Africa over its controversial land seizure law.

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa, recently lashed out at the South African government over the law, which President Cyril Ramaphosa signed late last month. 

Trump even threatened to cut U.S. funding for the African nation on Sunday, accusing it of treating "certain classes of people VERY BADLY," and committing human rights violations.

Rubio echoed the allegations that South Africa was "doing very bad things," and said his job was to "advance American interests" instead of wasting taxpayer dollars to attend events that "coddle anti-Americanism."

"I will NOT attend the G20 summit in Johannesburg. South Africa is doing very bad things," the secretary posted on X. "Expropriating private property. Using G20 to promote 'solidarity, equality, & sustainability.' In other words: DEI and climate change. My job is to advance America’s national interests, not waste taxpayer money or coddle anti-Americanism."

Ramaphosa has pushed back on the criticism of the new law, arguing that the South African government has not "confiscated any land," and that the law is not a "confiscation instrument."

“South Africa, like the United States of America and other countries, has always had expropriation laws that balance the need for public usage of land and the protection of rights of property owners,” he said on Monday. “We look forward to engaging with the Trump administration over our land reform policy and issues of bilateral interest.” 

The summit is currently scheduled for Nov. 22-23. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.