EDITORIAL | Hey, Donald Trump. It’s called the G20, not the G1

To say that the election of the 47th president of the United States of America last year has shaken the global political and economic world order would be an understatement.

But President Donald J Trump’s second go at the White House is a unique departure from the foreign policy of his first term, and it is having hellish implications for South Africa as the first African host of the G20 Summit taking place in Johannesburg this weekend.

The pressure that America’s first non-consecutive two-term president since Grover Cleveland has been putting on South Africa as it hosts the G20 Leaders’ Summit has escalated in the past few weeks.

This time, Trump initially vowed that he would not attend this weekend’s G20 gathering of leaders. Neither was he sending his vice-president JD Vance or secretary of state Marco Rubio, in his place. Trump went on to warn South Africa against even drafting and tabling a declaration at the summit.

One might ask what is the reason for all of this huffing and puffing from the US statesman?

The US continues to drive the narrative that the South African government is committing genocide against Afrikaners, ignoring farmer murders and confiscating land from minority white people. Never mind the fact that the uptake on his refugee status provisions for Afrikaners has been as attractive as a bag full of sand to a man wandering in the desert, and hardly anyone is jumping at the opportunity. The numbers don’t add up, but he will not be swayed.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s visit to the White House with a strategically selected entourage, which included another billionaire, a golfer and a white minister of agriculture, may as well have happened as far back as 1994.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the past 10 years in the diplomatic and trade relationship between South Africa and the US is the fact that Trump went from having no foreign policy in his first term to having a foreign policy riddled with regional perceptions full of inaccuracies, with a slight permutation of white supremacist influences.

Geopolitically speaking, Trump has been repeating the same line from the same playbook — misdirection, ignorance and colonial-esque bullying tactics.

Trump has taken a liking to tariffs as an instrument to redefine America’s economic and political relationship with countries around the world, including strategic allies. He has been known to justify these tariffs on countries by citing some sort of conflict of interest that has nothing to do with trade.

While the tensions between the US and South Africa put a negative spotlight on the country as we host the most important international event in recent memory, ours is far from the only country to face the wrath of the US. China, a Brics member, has also had to bear the brunt of being a diplomatic and trade target for the US.

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) between South Africa and the US expired without renewal in September. This was followed by the US imposing tariffs on South Africa amid claims of the aforementioned “white genocide”.

Brazil also faced 50% tariffs from the US, which appeared to indicate that the Trump administration is targeting emerging economies and possibly Brics member states in some sort of economic or trade war. Strong-arm tactics seem to be the order of the day, driven by unsound international relations policy direction.

These are not new tactics from the Trump administration, if one would even grant them the dignity of calling them anything more than hacks. Geopolitically speaking, Trump has been repeating the same line from the same playbook — misdirection, ignorance and colonial-esque bullying tactics.

This week alone, the US attempted to sabotage the summit, threatening the hosts with consequences should they continue with formalising a joint declaration in its absence, essentially holding the meeting at ransom.

Countries including France have come forward in defence and support of South Africa as the plans for the G20 summit continue.

In response to this, the US has made a U-turn. It is reported that the US government has changed its mind and will be sending a delegation to attend the G20 summit.

It is still unclear as to the level of seniority of the delegation that will be arriving from the US; however, Pretoria through Dirco has been unshakeable in its stance that the US should respect the dignity and gravity of this global leaders’ summit and send an appropriate delegation.

The US will be taking over from South Africa as hosts for the next G20 meeting, which will be held next year. Perhaps the Trump administration should take this opportunity to mend fences with neighbours, allies and trading partners, focusing on a more prosperous, safe and environmentally sustainable future for all, instead of antagonising and intentionally fabricating falsehoods about other sovereign states as we have recently witnessed.

The world now, more than ever, needs leaders who are passionate and able to tackle the very real challenges that communities across the globe face daily, such as famine, climate change, conflict zones, health, human trafficking and many other issues that create instability and volatility in the world.

Hopefully as President Trump expects world leaders to respect and support the leadership of the US in the next G20 summit, so too must he and his administration demonstrate respect and commitment to this summit.

Perhaps the about turn is a sign of hope that the US is once again willing to engage and treat its global counterparts fairly and with mutual courtesy.