President Cyril Ramaphosa has sharply rebuked Donald Trump after the U.S. leader threatened to bar South Africa from the 2026 G20 summit in the United States.
In a statement Thursday, the presidency called the threat “an insult” and made clear: as a permanent G20 member, South Africa has an automatic seat at the table invitation or not.
Weekend of Drama
Tensions exploded after South Africa successfully hosted Africa’s first-ever G20 summit last weekend an event the United States boycotted entirely.
Washington also tried to downgrade the symbolic G20 presidency handover to a junior embassy official. Pretoria refused and held the ceremony at the Foreign Ministry instead.
Clash of Visions
The final communiqué focused heavily on climate action and support for developing economies priorities the Trump administration rejected outright, refusing to sign.
Long-Running Feud
Since returning to office, Trump has repeatedly singled out South Africa, branding its government “anti-American” over its independent foreign policy and Black economic empowerment programmes aimed at reversing apartheid’s legacy.
The public war of words shows no sign of cooling as the two nations head toward next year’s U.S.-hosted summit.
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