President Donald J. Trump announced late Wednesday, 26 November 2025, that South Africa will not receive an invitation to the 2026 G20 summit, which the United States will host in Miami, Florida, and that Washington is immediately terminating all payments and subsidies to Pretoria.
“The United States did not attend the G20 in South Africa, because the South African Government refuses to acknowledge or address the horrific Human Right Abuses endured by Afrikaners, and other descendants of Dutch, French, and German settlers. To put it more bluntly, they are killing white people, and randomly allowing their farms to be taken from them. At the conclusion of the G20, South Africa refused 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. South Africa has demonstrated to the World they are not a country worthy of Membership anywhere, and we are going to stop all payments and subsidies to them, effective immediately.”
Hours later, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa issued a formal response from the Presidency, rejecting the U.S. decision and defending South Africa’s standing in the forum.
“The G20 South Africa 2025 Leaders Summit was hailed by all members who attended as one of the most successful summits,” the statement read. “As the United States was not present at the summit, 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.”
The Presidency emphasized that “South Africa is a member of the G20 in its own name and right” and that its membership “is at the behest of all other members.” It added: “South Africa is a sovereign constitutional democratic country and does not appreciate insults from another country about its worth in participating in global platforms. South Africa will never insult another country or its standing in the community of nations.”
President Ramaphosa’s office described the U.S. measures as “regrettable” and based on “misinformation and distortions,” noting that “despite the efforts and numerous attempts by President Ramaphosa and his administration to reset the diplomatic relationship with the US, President Trump continues to apply punitive measures against South Africa.”
The statement concluded by calling on G20 members “to reaffirm its continued operation in the spirit of multilateralism, based on consensus, with all members participating on an equal footing in all of its structures.”
As of Wednesday evening, neither the White House nor the U.S. State Department had issued an additional official comment beyond President Trump’s social-media post.