Prime Africa News – U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that South Africa will not be invited to participate in next year’s G20 summit in Miami, escalating diplomatic tensions between Washington and Pretoria after the U.S. boycotted last week’s leaders’ summit in Johannesburg.
Trump made the announcement on Wednesday through a post on his Truth Social platform, accusing South Africa of refusing to formally hand over the G20 presidency to a U.S. representative after Washington skipped the summit.
“At the conclusion of the G20, South Africa refused to hand off the G20 Presidency to a Senior Representative from our U.S. Embassy, who attended the Closing Ceremony,” Trump wrote. “Therefore, at my direction, South Africa will NOT be receiving an invitation to the 2026 G20, which will be hosted in the Great City of Miami, Florida next year.”
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office swiftly dismissed Trump’s remarks as “regrettable” and misleading, saying due protocol had been followed in handing over the presidency.
Ramaphosa clarified that since the U.S. delegation chose not to attend the summit, South Africa transferred the G20 instruments “to a U.S. Embassy official at the Headquarters of South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation.”
The U.S. boycott came after the G20 collectively adopted a declaration addressing climate change and global development challenges—despite U.S. objections. Washington later accused South Africa of “weaponising” its G20 presidency.
Strained U.S.–South Africa Relations
Since returning to office in January for a second term, Trump has repeatedly criticized the South African government’s domestic and foreign policy positions.
“It is regrettable that despite the efforts and numerous attempts by President Ramaphosa and his administration to reset the diplomatic relationship with the U.S., President Trump continues to apply punitive measures against South Africa based on misinformation and distortions about our country,” the Presidency said.
Trump has renewed long-standing and widely debunked claims that South Africa’s Black-majority government is persecuting the white minority and allowing “white genocide,” particularly against farmers. Earlier this year, he confronted Ramaphosa with those allegations during a White House meeting.
The White House confirmed that the Trump administration will “stop all payments and subsidies” to South Africa with immediate effect. This follows an executive order signed in February cutting U.S. financial assistance to Pretoria, citing disagreements over land reform policy and South Africa’s genocide case against U.S. ally Israel at the International Court of Justice.
South Africa has not yet indicated whether it will formally challenge Trump’s latest G20 decision, but officials warn that punitive measures risk undermining years of bilateral cooperation.
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