US Takes G20 Control, South Africa Banned From 2026 Miami Summit
The US assumes G20 presidency as South Africa is excluded from Miami 2026 summit, sparking diplomatic tensions and global attention.
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On Monday, the United States officially assumed the presidency of the Group of 20 (G20), which is a one-year leadership of the global forum. The transition came at a time when tensions between Washington and Pretoria were high.
In a move that was questioned, the US removed every bit of information from the South African G20 website that was up to date. The new website has a monochrome portrait of former President Donald Trump with the lines “Miami 2026” and “The Best Is Yet to Come,” which is a phrase from the Frank Sinatra song, as its caption, as per local news reports.
Trump had previously expressed that South Africa would be left out of the G20 Summit of 2026 that was going to be held at his Miami golf club. According to him, South Africa's behavior during the last moments of this year's summit caused the US to lose grip on the G20 presidency.
Trump remarked, “South Africa did not want to let its G20 chairmanship go to the Senior Representative from our US Embassy at the Closing Ceremony. At my command, they will not be getting an invitation to the 2026 G20 Summit in Miami, Florida.”
The South African President Cyril Ramaphosa criticized the decision and called it "unfortunate" and a “blow” to the ongoing attempts to develop diplomatic relations. The South African government's official communication said that Trump's position is grounded on "misrepresentation and fabrications" about the country, asserting that South Africa’s G20 membership is not contested by any of the other member states.
The G20 Summit this year took place in Johannesburg, which was the first time that the major global economies' annual meeting was held in Africa. Trump was absent from the Johannesburg summit, which exacerbated the already tense relations between the two nations.
The United States will take over the G20 presidency and officially lead it from December 1, 2025, to November 30, 2026, with the regularly held Miami summit being the most prominent event during its presidency.
