Trump administration excludes South Africa from G20 meetings

The United States is hosting a G20 Sherpas meeting in Washington on Monday and Tuesday, but has excluded South Africa, a founding G20 member, over unproven claims by the Trump administration that the South African government is allowing white genocide to occur—a charge Pretoria denies. This snub has significantly strained relations between Presidents Cyril Ramaphosa and Donald Trump. Former US Ambassador to South Africa Cameron Hume (2001-2004) criticizes the exclusion as 'churlish' and misguided, predicting that other partners will view it as a mistake and continue engaging with South Africa. German Chancellor Frederick Merz hopes to persuade Trump to reconsider and include South Africa. Analysts warn that without South Africa's participation, the global South loses a key voice for driving change, potentially scoring short-term cultural and political points for the US but causing long-term detrimental impacts on the global economy. In South Africa's place, the US has invited Poland, a non-G20 member sharing right-leaning, nationalistic views aligned with Trump.