South Africa has pushed back after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the country would not be invited to next year’s G20 summit in Miami. President Cyril Ramaphosa described Trump’s declaration as “regrettable,” following claims that South Africa refused to hand over the G20 presidency to a U.S. embassy representative during last week’s Johannesburg summit.
In a post on social media, Trump stated:
“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.”
Although G20 members do not require formal invitations, participation can be restricted through visa limitations.
Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said South Africa’s leadership has accepted that “there won’t be a reset of the relationship” with the U.S., despite diplomatic efforts.
He added: “If visas are denied, well, then we will have to move on and look beyond the G20 in the US,” emphasising that South Africa remains committed to collaborating with other G20 nations to advance the outcomes of the Johannesburg summit.
Trump boycotted that summit, citing a widely debunked claim that South Africa’s white minority faces widespread killings and land seizures. Ramaphosa countered this narrative, noting that although the U.S. was expected to participate, it “elected not to attend the G20 Leaders Summit in Johannesburg out of its own volition.” He added that some U.S. businesses and civil society groups were still present.
Ramaphosa also confirmed that since the U.S. delegation was not in attendance, “instruments of the G20 Presidency were duly handed over to a US Embassy official” at South Africa’s foreign affairs headquarters — a process that appears to have angered Trump further.
Trump has previously claimed that a “white genocide” is taking place in South Africa and stated on Wednesday that the government was “killing white people and randomly allowing their farms to be taken from them.” These assertions have been repeatedly dismissed by the South African government as unsubstantiated and lacking credible evidence.
Ramaphosa expressed disappointment that despite attempts to improve relations, Trump continues “to apply punitive measures against South Africa based on misinformation and distortions about our country.”
Trump’s Truth Social post escalated tensions by claiming South Africa had “demonstrated to the world they were not a country worthy of membership anywhere” and declaring an immediate halt to “all payments and subsidies to them.”
In response, South African officials have called for unity among G20 members and urged them to protect the legitimacy of the group and the rights of its participants.
The G20 summit — the first ever held on African soil — concluded with a joint declaration upholding “multilateral co-operation” on climate action and global inequality. The U.S. voiced objections, accusing South Africa of leveraging its leadership role for political influence.
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