Trump turns G20 into a tale of two summits
If US President Donald Trump was bent on ruining South Africa’s Group of 20 (G20) Summit as part of his overarching attack on the multilateral order, let it be said that he didn’t succeed – but he widened the cracks.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, beset by Trump’s false claims of white genocide in his country and a US boycott, managed to get the rest of the G20 to agree to a declaration, despite American threats.
Read: US warns South Africa not to issue G20 declaration at summit
That the declaration endorsed all the themes his administration has spent the year attacking – global solidarity, equality, sustainability – led one national newspaper to headline the first day: a “Bloody Nose for Trump”.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney echoed Ramaphosa when he said the world will move on without the US – particularly, perhaps, during a month in which Trump seems increasingly on his way to being a lame duck.
The summit “brought together nations representing three-quarters of the world’s population, two-thirds of global GDP and three-quarters of the world’s trade, and that’s without the United States formally attending”, Carney told a press conference on Sunday at the summit in Johannesburg.
Western leaders huddle
At the summit, it was Western leaders huddling to determine how to respond to Trump.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted her own G7 mini-family photo, of the wealthiest countries minus the US dealing with the issue. Their Global South counterparts held their own side meetings.
Von der Leyen wrote on X:
“We welcome the continued US efforts to bring peace to Ukraine.
“The initial draft of the 28-point plan includes important elements that will be essential for a just and lasting peace.
“We believe therefore that the draft is a basis which will require additional work.
“We are ready to engage in order to ensure that a future peace is sustainable. We are clear on the principle that borders must not be changed by force.
“We are also concerned by the proposed limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack,” wrote Von der Leyen.
-2025 Bloomberg
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, beset by Trump’s false claims of white genocide in his country and a US boycott, managed to get the rest of the G20 to agree to a declaration, despite American threats.
Read: US warns South Africa not to issue G20 declaration at summit
That the declaration endorsed all the themes his administration has spent the year attacking – global solidarity, equality, sustainability – led one national newspaper to headline the first day: a “Bloody Nose for Trump”.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney echoed Ramaphosa when he said the world will move on without the US – particularly, perhaps, during a month in which Trump seems increasingly on his way to being a lame duck.
The summit “brought together nations representing three-quarters of the world’s population, two-thirds of global GDP and three-quarters of the world’s trade, and that’s without the United States formally attending”, Carney told a press conference on Sunday at the summit in Johannesburg.
Western leaders huddle
At the summit, it was Western leaders huddling to determine how to respond to Trump.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted her own G7 mini-family photo, of the wealthiest countries minus the US dealing with the issue. Their Global South counterparts held their own side meetings.
Von der Leyen wrote on X:
“We welcome the continued US efforts to bring peace to Ukraine.
“The initial draft of the 28-point plan includes important elements that will be essential for a just and lasting peace.
“We believe therefore that the draft is a basis which will require additional work.
“We are ready to engage in order to ensure that a future peace is sustainable. We are clear on the principle that borders must not be changed by force.
“We are also concerned by the proposed limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack,” wrote Von der Leyen.
-2025 Bloomberg
