South Africa brushed aside fresh criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump, who said the country “shouldn’t even be in the Gs anymore” and confirmed he will skip this month’s G20 leaders’ summit in Johannesburg, sending Vice President JD Vance in his place.
Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told the BBC that South Africa remains confident it will host a “very successful” gathering of the world’s largest economies. The United States is due to assume the rotating G20 presidency after South Africa.
Trump, who has repeatedly accused South Africa of discriminating against its white minority, made his latest remarks at a conference in Miami on Wednesday. Pretoria offered no detailed response on Thursday, but last week criticized Washington’s decision to prioritize refugee applications from white Afrikaners, saying claims of a “white genocide” are unsubstantiated and contradicted by national crime data.
South Africa’s 2025 G20 theme emphasizes solidarity, equality and sustainability. Foreign ministry spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said the country draws on its transition from racial division to democracy to “champion… shared prosperity” and collective action that addresses the legacy of colonialism.
Created in 1999 and elevated to leaders’ level in 2008, the G20 has no formal procedure for expelling members. Analysts note any exclusion would effectively require broad agreement among participants and a host’s decision not to invite a state.
Ties between Trump and President Cyril Ramaphosa have frayed this year. After Ramaphosa signed a law allowing land expropriation without compensation in limited cases, Trump offered refugee status to Afrikaners and later ambushed a White House meeting with claims—widely discredited in South Africa—that white farmers were being “killed” and “persecuted.” Subsequent efforts to repair relations faltered, and in August the U.S. imposed 30% tariffs on South African exports, the highest in sub-Saharan Africa.