A combative US President Donald Trump has declared that South Africa will not be invited to the 2026 G20 Leaders’ Summit in Miami, escalating tensions just days after Johannesburg hosted a widely praised 2025 summit.
South Africa, a founding member of the G20, has been the target of repeated attacks from Trump, who again used his Truth Social platform to push false claims of a “white genocide” and to question the country’s place in the global economic bloc.
“At my direction, South Africa will NOT be receiving an invitation to the 2026 G20,” Trump posted, adding that the US would “stop all payments and subsidies” to the country with immediate effect.
The announcement follows warnings from South African officials — including former finance minister Trevor Manuel — that the US was likely to sideline Pretoria from next year’s talks. The Presidency described Trump’s move as “regrettable”, saying it was based on “misinformation and distortions”.
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South Africa noted that the 2025 G20 Summit, attended by dozens of world leaders including those from France, China, the UK, India, Brazil, Japan and Germany, was hailed as one of the most successful in recent years. The summit produced a declaration reinforcing the role of multilateralism in addressing global challenges.
The diplomatic fallout deepened earlier this month when Trump instructed senior US officials, including Vice President JD Vance, not to attend the Johannesburg summit.
The White House later attempted to send embassy representatives to accept the ceremonial handover of the G20 Presidency, but Pretoria rejected the request, insisting it violated protocol.
Trump complained on Wednesday that South Africa “refused to hand off the G20 Presidency to a Senior Representative” at the closing ceremony. In its response, the SA Presidency said the handover took place properly at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, as the US had chosen not to participate at leader level.
South Africa stressed that it remains a G20 member “in its own name and right”, with membership determined collectively by the bloc. It added that while the US government stayed away, American businesses and civil society participated extensively in G20 engagements such as the B20 and G20 Social.
Reaffirming South Africa’s position, the Presidency said: “We are a sovereign constitutional democracy and do not appreciate insults from another country.”
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