South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has criticised US President Donald Trump’s announcement that South Africa will not be invited to next year’s G20 summit in Florida, calling the move “regrettable.”
Trump posted on social media that South Africa had refused to hand over the G20 presidency to a US embassy representative during last week’s summit in Johannesburg. He 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.”
Although G20 members do not need an invitation to participate, attendance can be restricted through visa limits.
Trump previously boycotted the Johannesburg summit over a widely disproven claim that South Africa’s white minority faces mass killings and land seizures. Ramaphosa refuted this, saying the US chose not to attend the summit “out of its own volition.” He noted that some US businesses and civil society groups did participate.
Since the US delegation was absent, Ramaphosa said the G20 presidency documents were formally handed over to a US embassy official at South Africa’s foreign affairs headquarters. The low-profile handover angered Trump further, prompting him to double down on long-standing criticism of South African domestic and foreign policy.
Trump has previously claimed that “white genocide” is taking place in South Africa — allegations the South African government says are baseless and unsupported by credible evidence. In his latest post, he accused the government of “killing white people” and allowing their farms to be taken. He also announced a halt to “all payments and subsidies” to South Africa.
Ramaphosa said the decision undermines efforts to repair relations with the US and is based on “misinformation and distortions.” South African officials have urged other G20 members to stand in solidarity and uphold the integrity of the forum.
This year’s G20 — the first held on African soil — concluded with a joint declaration committing to multilateral cooperation on climate action and reducing economic inequality. The declaration was approved despite objections from the US, which accused South Africa of politicising its leadership role.
