Trump’s reasons for boycotting the event are ridiculous, to be polite … The claim that white people are more affected by criminal acts in the country is not only a mistaken belief but also a manufactured lie designed to invoke the emotions of white racists across the globe. The argument that black economic empowerment, affirmative action and other transformative laws are racist is simply an attempt to protect the privilege of white people,” said Sowetan editor Sibongakonke Shoba. 

Traditionally, each meeting of the Group of Twenty, more commonly known as the G20, ends with the leader of the host country ceremonially handing the gavel to the leader of the next year’s host country. 

Not this year. 

The United States’ absence was not just symbolic. In boycotting the summit, the Trump administration has chosen to relinquish the nation’s leadership on global economic and social policy, preferring instead to promote discredited conspiracy theories rooted in racial prejudice. 

The boycott is part of an ongoing diplomatic attack on South Africa dating back to Trump’s first term, when he began disseminating baseless claims of widespread killing of white South African farmers and land seizures. The administration has used these lies as a pretext to withdraw financial assistance to South Africa, give white South Africans priority for refugee status in the U.S., and boycott the G20 summit that just concluded. 

Trump’s confrontation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with misleading and mislabeled racist propaganda in the Oval Office in May was embarrassing. The consequences of the boycott will be far more damaging. As the U.S. surrenders its role in shaping the global economic future, the vacuum will be filled by nations like China and Russia, which are only too happy to see U.S. status and influence diminished. 

Africa, home to some of the fastest-growing economies in the world, is increasingly central to global growth. Conversations about trade, technology and climate change rely on these young, dynamic voices, and the U.S. has a responsibility and shared interest in being part of these conversations. 

The Trump administration has clung to the mantra of “America first.” But boycotting the G20 is “America sidelined.” In presenting a false choice between domestic and global concerns, the administration betrays its failure to grasp how the two are intertwined. American jobs depend on trade deals that were negotiated without U.S. input. Public health depends on agreements forged in the nation’s absence. 

The U.S. cannot lead if it doesn’t show up. It cannot be a beacon of truth while spreading lies. It cannot promote American ideals if it abdicates leadership to nations hostile to its goals. Walking away from the G20 was an epic failure of leadership. Continuing down this path would be an even greater one. 

The writer is the president and CEO of the National Urban League.