A serious disagreement has happened between the United States and South Africa. This started when former US President Donald Trump said he will stop South Africa from going to the next G20 summit in 2026. Trump made this announcement on his social media platform. He says this is because of a problem at last week's G20 summit in Johannesburg, which the US did not attend.
Trump gives two reasons for his decision. First, he accuses South Africa of "horrific human right abuses" and talks about "white genocide." However, major news organizations say there is no good evidence for this claim. Second, Trump says South Africa did not properly hand over the G20 leadership to the US.
South African leaders strongly disagree. President Cyril Ramaphosa says Trump's announcement is "regrettable" and based on wrong information. A spokesperson explained that the handover did happen, but it was with a lower-level US official at a government office. This was because the US did not send a senior leader to the summit to receive it.
This argument could have real results. The host country can stop visitors by not giving them visas. A South African official said if the US denies them visas, they will "have to move on." Trump also threatened to stop American payments to South Africa.
This situation hurts the relationship between the two countries. It is unusual to stop a past host from attending the next summit. South Africa now believes a better relationship with the US is unlikely soon.