1 hour ago
Last Updated:November 21, 2025, 01:47 IST
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Trump did not appreciate the language used by the South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa.
US President Donald Trump meets South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US. (IMAGE: REUTERS FILE)
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt on Thursday said that the US will not participate in the official talks at the Group of 20 summit in South Africa and that representative from the US Embassy in South Africa will attend the formal handover ceremony at the end of this weekend’s G20 summit in Johannesburg.
“The United States is not participating in official talks at the G20 in South Africa. I saw the South African President running his mouth a little bit against the United States and @POTUS… and that language is not appreciated by @POTUS and his team," Leavitt said.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa at an event said that the United States had indicated that it had a “change of mind" over its boycott at the “11th hour."
“Boycott politics does not work. It is better to be inside the tent that is G20, rather than outside the tent," Ramaphosa said, in a video posted on his X account.
Trump announced this month that no US government official would attend the two-day meeting of world leaders from rich and developing countries in South Africa’s biggest city. Trump cited his claims that South Africa is violently persecuting the country’s white Afrikaner minority farmers as the reason for the US boycott. Those statements by Trump have been widely rejected by South Africa.
Ramaphosa previously expressed disappointment that the US boycott would mean that he hands over to an “empty chair" at the end of the summit.
On Thursday, South Africa’s leader said that he welcomed U.S. participation at Africa’s first G20 summit “in one shape or form or another" and viewed the late communication as a “pleasing" change of approach from the world’s biggest economy.
“The United States is a member of the G20, they are an original member of the G20, so they have the right to be here," Ramaphosa said. “And all we are seeking to do is looking at the practicalities … for them to participate."
Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a Chief Sub-Editor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over seven years of experience during which he has covered se...Read More
Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a Chief Sub-Editor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over seven years of experience during which he has covered se...
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Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
First Published:
November 21, 2025, 01:47 IST
News world Trump Not Attending G20 Summit, Says White House: ‘South African President Running His Mouth…’
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