President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that South Africa will not receive an invitation to the 2026 Group of Twenty (G20) summit in Miami, marking the first time a founding member has been excluded from the global economic forum.
The president made the declaration on Truth Social, stating the decision followed a diplomatic dispute over the ceremonial handover of the G20 presidency. Trump claimed South African officials refused to transfer hosting responsibilities to a senior US Embassy representative who attended the closing ceremony of this year’s summit in Johannesburg. The 2025 summit took place November 22 to 23 at the Johannesburg Expo Centre, becoming the first G20 summit held on the African continent.
Trump’s administration had boycotted the Johannesburg gathering entirely, leaving the world’s biggest economy missing from a key forum for global economic policymaking. No high-level American officials attended the weekend event, which proceeded with leaders from major economies including China, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Canada signing a declaration focused on development issues affecting emerging nations.
The diplomatic rift centers on Trump’s repeated allegations regarding the treatment of white Afrikaners in South Africa. Trump wrote on Truth Social that white people were being killed and farms randomly taken, claims that human rights experts agree have no basis. South Africa, which endured decades of racial apartheid until 1994, has strongly rejected these accusations as misinformation.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office responded to Trump’s announcement by calling it regrettable. The South African presidency clarified that instruments of the G20 presidency were duly handed over to a US embassy official at the headquarters of South Africa’s department of international relations and cooperation. Ramaphosa’s statement emphasized that South Africa is a sovereign constitutional democracy that does not appreciate insults from another country about its participation in global platforms.
The handover dispute involved protocol disagreements about the traditional ceremony where the host country passes a symbolic wooden gavel to the incoming presidency. South Africa refused to have Ramaphosa hand over to what it called a junior official, viewing the arrangement as disrespectful given that Trump had chosen not to send cabinet-level representation to the summit.
Trump also announced immediate suspension of all payments and subsidies to South Africa. This follows an executive order he signed in February cutting financial assistance to the country over disagreements about land policy and South Africa’s International Court of Justice genocide case against Israel. The two countries’ business relationship is valued at approximately $26.2 billion as of 2024, with the United States serving as South Africa’s second-largest single-country trading partner behind China.
The Group of Twenty brings together major advanced and emerging economies representing roughly 80% of global GDP and two-thirds of the world’s population. The forum has operated since 1999 on principles of inclusion, making Trump’s exclusion decision unprecedented in the organization’s history. South Africa remains a founding member of the G20 and currently serves on the Troika, which includes the outgoing, current, and incoming presidencies.
Next year’s summit is scheduled to take place at Trump National Doral, a golf resort in Florida owned by the president’s family business. The venue selection has drawn scrutiny about potential conflicts of interest. Trump administration officials have indicated they plan to invite Poland to participate at an elevated level in South Africa’s place.
The exclusion has raised questions about the future of multilateral cooperation within the G20 framework. Clayson Monyela, South Africa’s head of public diplomacy, warned that the G20 itself could be at risk if Trump’s threats materialize, noting that member countries don’t receive invitations to gatherings but participate as members of the forum.
Ramaphosa’s administration has made multiple attempts to reset diplomatic relations with Washington since Trump returned to office in January. The South African government maintains that Trump continues applying punitive measures based on distortions about the country. During the Johannesburg summit, Ramaphosa had promised to symbolically hand the presidency to an empty chair if necessary, given the anticipated American absence.
The 2025 summit proceeded successfully despite the US boycott, with the meeting’s declaration giving more attention to issues affecting developing countries. The declaration addressed topics including climate change, digital transformation, inclusive industrialization, and reforms to global financial institutions. The Trump administration expressed opposition to South Africa’s agenda, particularly components focused on climate action and development financing.
Relations between the two countries have deteriorated significantly throughout 2025. The Trump administration has cast South Africa as anti-American because of its diplomatic ties with China, Russia and Iran. Trump confronted Ramaphosa with false genocide claims during a White House meeting in May, further straining bilateral relations.
