WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, that South Africa will not be invited to the 2026 G20 Summit in Miami, escalating tensions between Washington and Pretoria after the United States boycotted last week’s G20 leaders’ meeting in Johannesburg.
Trump said the decision followed South Africa’s refusal “to hand off the G20 Presidency to a Senior Representative from our U.S. Embassy, who attended the Closing Ceremony.”
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
South Africa condemned the move, describing it as “regrettable.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office said the transition of the G20 presidency was conducted “in accordance with diplomatic protocol.”
“Since the U.S. delegation was not present at the summit last week, instruments of the G20 Presidency were duly handed over to a U.S. Embassy official at the Headquarters of South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation,” Ramaphosa said.
Strained Relations
Relations between the two countries have deteriorated sharply since Trump’s return to office in January. The U.S. boycott of the Johannesburg summit came after Washington accused South Africa of “weaponising” its leadership of the G20 by pushing through a climate declaration without U.S. endorsement.
Ramaphosa’s office said it was “disappointing that despite numerous efforts to reset diplomatic relations with the United States, President Trump continues to apply punitive measures based on misinformation and distortions about our country.”
Trump has repeatedly accused South Africa’s government of persecuting white farmers and enabling a “white genocide,” claims that human rights groups and international observers have debunked.
The U.S. president also confirmed his administration will “stop all payments and subsidies” to South Africa with immediate effect, citing disagreements over land reform and Pretoria’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Trump formalized the decision in a February executive order, cutting U.S. financial assistance to South Africa, a move analysts say could further strain U.S.-Africa relations ahead of next year’s summit in Florida.
