WATCH: Is Ramaphosa in trouble? US Secretary of State Marco Rubio calls out SA ahead of Trump meeting

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said President Donald Trump would not join a meeting of G20 leaders in South Africa in November, stressing that Pretoria has been “consistently unaligned” with US policy.

Rubio’s comments came a day before President Cyril Ramaphosa meets with Trump at the White House on Wednesday.

Agenda

Ramaphosa arrived in Washington on Monday afternoon with his delegation for a working visit to the US amid tensions between the two countries.

The highly anticipated meeting between Ramaphosa and Trump has been confirmed for 5:30 pm (Central African Time) on Wednesday at the White House.

While the Presidency did not share an agenda for the talks, Ramaphosa and Trump are expected to discuss several issues, including members of the US administration snubbing the G20 meetings, aid cuts, the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza, South Africa’s  International Court of Justice (ICJ) case against Israel and “strengthening ties with Iran, which supports terrorism globally”.

WATCH Marco Rubio speaking about South Africa

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said President Donald Trump would not join a meeting of G20 leaders in South Africa in November, stressing that Pretoria has been “consistently unaligned” with US policy. Vid: @SenTedCruz #DonaldTrump #CyrilRamaphosa #MarcoRubio @TheCitizen_News pic.twitter.com/Hx2INSTC6C

— 𝙵𝚊𝚒𝚣𝚎𝚕 𝙿𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕 ⚡️ (@FaizelPatel143) May 21, 2025

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American interests

Speaking at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Rubio claimed South Africa is undermining American security interests.

“We chose not to participate in this year’s G20 hosted by South Africa either at the foreign minister level or the president’s level, and it had a lot to do with some of these issues, in addition to some of the issues they brought on their agenda, which we don’t think reflect the priorities of this administration,” Rubio said.

“So the president of South Africa is here today because he says he endeavours to reset relations between our countries and President Trump. If someone says that it is always going to be open to resetting relations, but it will have to touch on some of the issues just pointed out now.

“Obviously, the position they’ve adopted towards Israel is not just off balance, but completely geared towards one side, and it makes one wonder about these allegations that are out there now of foreign influence, including with Iran. They are clearly on the global stage, and multiple multinational organisations have consistently been a vote against America’s interests time and again,” Rubio said.

‘Zelensky-style ambush’

There is speculation about how the meeting will go, with fears Ramaphosa is walking into a “Zelensky-style ambush”, referring to the viral clash that took place when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the White House in February.

Ramaphosa told journalists in Washington that he was hoping for “really good” discussions with Trump and his administration.

“I’m looking forward to a really good and positive meeting, and we’re looking forward to a very good outcome for our country, for our people, for the jobs in our country and good trade relations and [normalising] relations between our two countries.”

Foreign policy

Ramaphosa said he will also clarify South Africa’s policy positions on a range of pressing geopolitical matters.

“We are going to have an opportunity to discuss geopolitical issues, not only Israel, but also Ukraine. So all these matters will be on the table for proper discussion, and we are very rational when it comes to discussing global and geopolitical matters.

“We will put South Africa’s interests first, and our own foreign policy positions will be well clarified. So fear not,” Ramaphosa said.

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