US President Donald Trump said Friday he would welcome Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping to the 2026 G20 summit in Miami, suggesting they could attend “as observers” if they wished.

“That’s an interesting question — I’d love them to, if they want to,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “They can, you know, as observers. I’m not sure they want to be an observer.”

The US will host the 2026 G20 summit for the first time in nearly two decades, coinciding with America’s 250th Independence anniversary. Trump confirmed the venue will be his Doral golf resort in Miami, Florida.

“Everybody wants it there because it’s right next to the airport, it’s the best location, it’s beautiful,” Trump said, defending the choice. During his first term, he faced criticism for proposing the 2020 G7 at the same site, a plan later abandoned amid conflict-of-interest concerns. “There’s no money in it. We just want to make sure it’s good,” he insisted.

Russia and China remain G20 members, but Putin has avoided recent summits, sending Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in his place since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Xi attended the 2024 summit in Brazil after skipping New Delhi in 2023.

Trump also confirmed he will skip this year’s G20 in Johannesburg, South Africa, citing tensions with Pretoria. Vice President J.D. Vance will represent the US instead. Trump suspended aid to South Africa earlier this year, accusing its government of discrimination against White farmers.

The Johannesburg summit, set for November 22–23, will still bring together the world’s largest economies. But Washington’s absence at the presidential level underscores Trump’s sharper foreign policy lines ahead of Miami 2026.