Leaders attend a plenary session on the second day of the G20 Leaders' Summit at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg on November 23, 2025. MARCO LONGARI/Pool via REUTERS
President Cyril Ramaphosa officially closed the summit in Johannesburg by striking a gavel, a G20 tradition, but no U.S. official was present to receive it. The U.S. boycotted the summit over Trump’s claims of violent persecution against South Africa’s Afrikaner white minority. Although the White House attempted to send an embassy official, South Africa refused, considering it disrespectful.
Ramaphosa announced that the handover of the G20 presidency would occur later, and Trump stated next year’s summit would be hosted at his golf club in Doral, Florida. In closing, Ramaphosa acknowledged the U.S. as the next G20 president but made no mention of its absence.
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