Trump Says South Africa Barred From 2026 G20 in Miami

Overview

• Trump announced on Truth Social that South Africa will not receive an invitation to the 2026 summit and said he will halt “all payments and subsidies” to the country immediately.
• He justified the decision by claiming South African officials refused to ceremonially hand over the G20 presidency to a senior U.S. embassy representative at the Johannesburg meeting.
• President Cyril Ramaphosa rejected the remarks as insulting, affirmed South Africa’s sovereignty and democratic standing, and urged G20 members to uphold consensus-based multilateralism.
• Diplomats and analysts note that hosts traditionally do not bar members, that any change to the group’s composition requires consensus, and that enforcement mechanisms such as visa denials remain unclear.
• Commentators, including Germany’s Friedrich Merz, warn the approach could diminish U.S. influence in the Global South and pressure other leaders over attendance, especially with the event slated for Trump National Doral.