President Donald Trump is set to continue his one-sided conflict against the South African government. After deciding to skip this year’s G20 summit hosted in Johannesburg, South Africa, Trump has now announced that he will double down by refusing to invite any South African delegates to next year’s summit in Miami. According to his administration, South Africa is “not a country worthy of membership anywhere.”
The origins of the conflict between Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa actually stem from the apparently uncultured tech mogul Elon Musk rather than anything personal between the two leaders. Post-pandemic, it became clear that one of the ways Musk intended to expand his vast business empire was by securing South African market access for his satellite internet company, Starlink. At first glance, it’s unclear how a seemingly routine business expansion turned into an international scandal between two allies.
