South Africa warns Trump's G20 snub sets dangerous precedent

Ntando Thukwana and Monique Vanek, Bloomberg News on Nov 28, 2025

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South Africa’s central bank governor warned that the U.S. move to exclude the country from the Group of 20 next year was placing the international gathering at risk.

South Africa has been a member of the bloc since its formation in 1999 and “I cannot think of one country that got told that they cannot come to G-20,” not even sanctioned Russia, Lesetja Kganyago said at a media lunch in Johannesburg on Friday.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced this week that he won’t invite South Africa — this year’s G20 president — to attend next year’s summit in Miami, which the U.S. will lead when it assumes the group’s presidency on Dec. 1.

Kganyago said that if South Africa is dropped in 2026, it would set a damaging precedent that could see other countries omitted in the future. “The G20 does not work like that. It’s a consensus forum,” the governor said.

Trump’s announcement reflects his broader beef with South Africa, which he has repeatedly accused, without evidence, of overseeing “genocide” against white South Africans. The U.S. also boycotted last weekend’s G20 summit in Johannesburg and criticized the country’s handling of the event.

The move to exclude South Africa has raised concerns among other members of the bloc. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Thursday that the G20 remains “one of the most important multilateral forums we still have.”

It’s not clear how the U.S. might enforce Trump’s ban on South Africa or any other nation’s participation, although presumably the State Department wouldn’t issue visas to officials seeking to attend.

Still, Kganyago said the situation remains fluid and could shift as quickly as Trump’s tariff threats. “There are so many moving parts,” he said. “You are going to see a lot of political posturing and there will surely be a climb-down.”

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