Trump considers skipping G20 summit, slams South Africa's 'very bad' policies
President Trump may skip the upcoming G20 summit in South Africa due to policy disagreements.
Tensions between the U.S. and South Africa have escalated over issues including land reform laws, foreign policy stances, and relations with BRICS nations.
Trump's potential absence highlights growing diplomatic friction, which could impact U.S.–Africa relations long-term.
Trump's remarks come amid a deepening strain in U.S.–South Africa relations, fueled by long-standing disagreements over a range of issues including South Africa's land reform laws, its pro-Palestinian stance in the Israel–Gaza conflict, and its growing alignment with BRICS nations.
These tensions have prompted the Trump administration to impose multiple sanctions on South Africa, including a 30% tariff on selected South African goods, a move that has further deteriorated bilateral relations.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said, 'I think maybe I'll send somebody else because I've had a lot of problems with South Africa. They have some very bad policies.'
South African officials have yet to issue a formal response to the statement. However, analysts warn that Trump's comments could escalate diplomatic friction ahead of the summit, which many see as a pivotal opportunity for developing countries to press for more inclusive global governance.
Trump's policy dispute with South Africa
Since the start of his second term in 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump has intensified tensions with South Africa, reviving a diplomatic chill driven by ideological rifts and competing global alliances.
His administration has openly criticized South Africa's growing ties with Russia and China, its opposition to Western foreign policy, and its leadership role in BRICS and the Global South.
The strain deepened earlier this year when US Secretary of State, Senator Marco Rubio declined an invitation to a G20 preparatory meeting in Johannesburg, citing South Africa's alignment with anti-Western regimes.
Soon after, the White House instructed the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria to avoid making logistical arrangements for the G20 summit, signaling a potential boycott unless South Africa altered its stance.
The friction reflects Washington's broader frustration with Pretoria's increasingly independent foreign policy, including support for Palestine, resistance to U.S.-backed sanctions, and its decision to host Russian President Vladimir Putin despite an ICC warrant.
With the G20 summit now in focus, Trump's administration sees South Africa as part of a rising bloc challenging U.S. influence. What began as diplomatic friction has grown into a full-blown policy standoff that could redefine U.S.–Africa relations for years to come.
Trump's potential absence from the summit could have diplomatic implications, as it would mark a rare snub of a major global economic forum hosted on African soil.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
American Military News
a few seconds ago
- American Military News
Speak Out, Lose Service: Iran Targets SIM Cards Of Dissenting Voices
This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission. Iranian authorities are increasingly disconnecting citizens from mobile services for posting critical content about the Islamic republic on social media, a coercive tactic that links freedom of expression to access to essential digital tools. The practice, which intensified in the summer of 2024 and is resurging again, targets journalists, activists, academics, and ordinary users across the country. Individuals are reporting sudden SIM card deactivations after publishing posts on platforms such as X and Instagram that criticize government policies or actions. To restore service, users say they are often required to delete the offending content, sign written pledges to avoid future criticism, and, in some cases, publish statements in support of the Islamic republic. Ali Akbar Gorji, a constitutional law professor at Tehran's Shahid Beheshti University, is one of those who had his SIM card deactivated after commenting on Iran's tensions with Israel. He told the Shargh newspaper that authorities made restoring his SIM card access conditional on deleting his critical posts and publishing pro-Islamic republic content. Radio Farda has learned that Gorji was specifically instructed to post up to 20 times in support of the state. Others have reported similar experiences. A text message sent to affected individuals says their 'hostile and biased activities' were identified by 'artificial intelligence' and therefore their access to their SIM cards or internet services 'have been restricted or suspended.' It then lists a series of measures that need to be taken in order to restore access. Several journalists and activists told Radio Farda that they were summoned by state bodies and instructed to meet various conditions in order to regain access to mobile services. These demands include signing pledges stating that the user will 'not engage in activities, express opinions, or post comments that will undermine psychological, social, or political security' of the country. Users must also accept that violating these pledges may result in renewed restrictions or prosecution. One academic said they were forced to remove posts dating back to the 2022 nationwide protests, which gave rise to the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement and challenged the legitimacy of the Islamic republic. On X, a user named Foad Ahmadi said his SIM access was suspended for allegedly supporting Israel. But the consequences went beyond telecommunications — he reported being locked out of online banking and unable to use ride-hailing apps. Journalist Sadaf Fatemi experienced a similar block, prompting her to delete critical posts. These cases form part of a broader pattern involving directives from judicial bodies, the cyber police (FATA), and the intelligence organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Legal experts, including lawyers Mousa Barzin and Hadi Jafarpour, argue that these actions violate both Iranian law and international human rights standards, as they are carried out without due process and rely on vague legal provisions. This tactic is viewed as a continuation of the state's broader repression following the 2022 protests. Beyond its chilling effect on dissent, this practice disrupts access to vital services like banking and communication tools. It also raises serious concerns about digital rights, freedom of speech, and account security. Iran consistently ranks poorly on global indices related to civil liberties and expression. In its most recent annual report, Freedom House cited 'vaguely defined restrictions on speech, harsh criminal penalties, and state monitoring of online communications' as key factors deterring Iranians from engaging in free and open discourse.
Los Angeles Times
a few seconds ago
- Los Angeles Times
California, other states sue Trump over order threatening gender-affirming care providers
California and a coalition of other liberal-led states sued the Trump administration Friday over efforts to end gender-affirming care for transgender, intersex and nonbinary children and young adults nationwide — calling them an unconstitutional attack on LGBTQ+ patients, healthcare providers and states' rights. The lawsuit was brought by California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and officials from 15 other states and the District of Columbia. It challenges a Jan. 28 executive order by President Trump that denounced gender-affirming care as 'mutilation' and called on U.S. Justice Department officials to effectively enforce a ban, including by launching investigations into healthcare providers. The lawsuit notes the Justice Department last month sent more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics that have provided such care nationwide, with justice officials suggesting they may face criminal prosecution. Bonta's office, in a statement, said such efforts 'have no legal basis and are intended to discourage providers from offering lifesaving healthcare that is lawful under state law.' The lawsuit asks a federal court in Massachusetts to vacate Trump's order in its entirety for exceeding federal authority and undermining state laws that guarantee equal access to healthcare. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. Trump made reining in transgender rights a key promise of his presidential campaign. Upon taking office, he moved swiftly to do so through executive orders, funding cuts and litigation. And in many ways, it has worked — particularly when it comes gender-affirming care for minors. Clinics across the country that had provided such care have closed their doors in response to the threats and funding cuts. That includes the renowned Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, one of the largest and oldest pediatric gender clinics in the U.S. The clinic told thousands of its patients and their families that it was shuttering last month. Other clinics have similarly closed nationwide, radically reducing the availability of such care in the U.S. Republicans and other Trump supporters have cheered the closures as a major win, and they praised the president for protecting impressionable and confused children from so-called woke medical professionals pushing what they allege to be dangerous and irreversible treatments. Bonta said in the Friday statement that Trump and his administration's 'relentless attacks' on such care were 'cruel and irresponsible' and endangered 'already vulnerable adolescents whose health and well-being are at risk.' 'These actions have created a chilling effect in which providers are pressured to scale back on their care for fear of prosecution, leaving countless individuals without the critical care they need and are entitled to under law,' Bonta said. Mainstream U.S. medical associations have supported gender-affirming care for minors experiencing gender dysphoria for years. They and LGBTQ+ rights organizations have accused Trump and his supporters of mischaracterizing that care, which includes therapy, counseling and support for social transitioning, and can include puberty blockers, hormone treatment and, in rarer circumstances, mastectomies. Queer advocates, many patients and their families say such care is life-saving, alleviating intense distress — and suicidal thoughts — in transgender and other gender-nonconforming youth. They and many mainstream medical experts acknowledge that gender-affirming care for young people is still a developing field, but say it is also based on decades of solid research by medical professionals who are far better equipped than politicians to help families make difficult medical decisions. However, as the number of children who identify as transgender or nonbinary has rapidly increased in recent years, that argument has failed to take hold in many parts of the country. Conservatives and Republican leaders have grown increasingly alarmed by such care, pointing to young people who changed their minds about transitioning and now regret the care they received. 'Countless children soon regret that they have been mutilated and begin to grasp the horrifying tragedy that they will never be able to conceive children of their own or nurture their children through breastfeeding,' Trump's executive order stated. Trump and others have escalated tensions further by spreading misinformation about kids being whisked away from school to have their gentials mutilated without their parents' knowledge — which is not happening. The battle has played out in the courts, in part as a state's rights issue. In June, the Supreme Court ruled that conservative states may ban puberty blockers and hormone treatments for transgender teens, with the court's conservative majority finding that states are generally free to set their own standards of medical care. The Trump administration, however, has not taken the same view. Instead, it has aggressively tried to eradicate gender-affirming care nationwide, regardless of state laws — like those in California — that protect it. Trump's Jan. 28 executive order, titled 'Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,' claimed that 'medical professionals are maiming and sterilizing a growing number of impressionable children under the radical and false claim that adults can change a child's sex through a series of irreversible medical interventions.' It defined children as anyone under the age of 19, and said that moving forward, the U.S. wouldn't 'fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called 'transition' of a child from one sex to another,' but would 'rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures.' The states' lawsuit focuses on one particular section of that order, which directed Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi to convene state attorneys general and other law enforcement officials nationwide to begin investigating gender-affirming care providers and other groups that 'may be misleading the public about long-term side effects of chemical and surgical mutilation.' The section suggested those investigations could be based on laws against 'female genital mutilation,' or even around a 1938 law known as the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which authorizes the Food and Drug Administration to regulate food, drugs, medical devices and cosmetics. On July 9, Bondi announced the Justice Department's subpoenas to healthcare providers, saying doctors and hospitals 'that mutilated children in the service of a warped ideology will be held accountable.' On July 25, The Times reported that Bill Essayli, the Trump administration's controversial pick for U.S. attorney in L.A., had floated the idea of criminally charging doctors and hospitals for providing gender-affirming care, according to two federal law enforcement sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. The targeting of gender-affirming care is part of a wider effort by the administration to eliminate transgender rights more broadly, in part on the premise that transgender people do not exist. On his first day in office, Trump issued another executive order declaring there are only two sexes and denouncing what he called the 'gender ideology' of the left. His administration has sought to limit the options transgender people have to get passports that reflect their identities, and the Justice Department has sued California over its policies allowing transgender girls to compete against other girls in youth sports. Many transgender Americans are looking for ways to flee the country. Still, many in the LGBTQ+ community fear the attacks are only going to get worse. Among those who are most scared are the parents and families of transgender kids — including those who believe their health records may have been collected under the Justice Department's subpoenas. One mother of a Children's Hospital patient told The Times last month that she is terrified the Justice Department is 'going to come after parents and use the female genital mutilation law ... to prosecute parents and separate me from my child.' Bonta is leading the lawsuit along with the attorneys general of Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts and New York. Joining them are Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and the attorneys general of Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.
New York Post
a few seconds ago
- New York Post
RNC chair Michael Whatley launches NC Senate bid, opening door to new leadership
WASHINGTON — Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley has formally kicked off his bid for the hotly-contested North Carolina Senate seat, opening the door for new leadership at the top of the official GOP. Whatley can remain RNC chair up until the vote for his replacement, which has yet to be officially scheduled. His departure will mark yet another change in leadership, as Lara Trump stepped down as RNC co-chair in December in favor of a weekend hosting gig on Fox News. Democrats have not won a Senate seat in North Carolina since 2008, but have high hopes of replacing retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis with former Gov. Roy Cooper. An initial poll by Emerson College released Friday showed Cooper leading Whatley by six percentage points among all voters (47%-41%) with 12% undecided. 3 President Donald Trump, left, takes the stage with NCGOP Chairman Michael Whatley after being announced at the NCGOP state convention on June 5, 2021 in Greenville, North Carolina. Getty Images To replace Whatley, President Trump has backed Florida state Sen. Joe Gruters, the current RNC treasurer. Gruters, 48, has made headlines in the Sunshine State for his tense relationship with Gov. Ron DeSantis, who called him out July 16 by saying: 'Gruters has taken major positions contrary to what our voter base wants to do.' The governor specifically criticized Gruters for opposing legislation to reduce the power of teachers' unions in the state and campaigning for a constitutional amendment that would have largely decriminalized marijuana in Florida. Gruters also was at the center of a fight between DeSantis and the Republican-controlled Florida legislature over illegal immigration after lawmakers initially rejected an enforcement proposal by the governor in favor of legislation that would have weakened DeSantis' power. 'He was the author and architect of this terrible amnesty bill, which would have made everything I've done — including Alligator Alcatraz — to help President Trump's illegal immigration removal agenda illegal in the state of Florida,' DeSantis said July 16. On Friday, however, Trump praised Gruters on Truth Social as a 'MAGA Warrior … who has been with us from the very beginning.' 3 Florida state Sen. Joe Gruters, of Sarasota, was reelected in August 2022, with the help of an endorsement from Donald Trump. THOMAS BENDER/HERALD-TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images 'As State Senator and Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, Joe helped us deliver massive and historic Victories across the State, including my three BIG WINS in 2016, 2020, and 2024!' Trump wrote. 'As RNC Treasurer, Joe has been a Fierce Advocate for our Movement, and fought tirelessly to ensure a highly functioning, fiscally responsible, and financially successful RNC. He will be a wonderful Chairman!' The new chair will lead the party into the 2026 midterms, with Trump saying he has high hopes for Republicans to 'increase their margins' in both the House and Senate. The new chair will be aided by Trump's $1.4 billion war chest that will be used to back some of his 'friends' running across the country. 3 People wave their signs during Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley's campaign launch event for North Carolina's open US Senate seat, Thursday, July 31, 2025, in Gastonia, N.C. AP To replace Gruters as RNC Treasurer, Trump endorsed Jennifer Saul-Rich, who has served as a national committee woman from New York since 2004. 'Joe Gruters and Jennifer Saul-Rich are 100% America First, and I know they will do an incredible job, and secure Great Success for Republicans all across our Country,' Trump wrote. 'Joe and Jennifer have my Complete and Total Endorsement — THEY WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!'.
