Why confronting Donald Trump is essential for South Africa's sovereignty
US President Donald Trump announced plans for the 2026 G20 summit as US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, right, and Director of the National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, look on during a press availability in the Oval Office of the White House.
Image: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images North America/Getty Images via AFP
THERE comes a time when bullies have to be confronted; and that time has arrived for South Africa.
US President Donald Trump has used everything he could to undermine the sovereignty of this country with little to no success. It must remain like that.
His claims of ‘bad things’ happening here without providing a shred of evidence to back were not enough. The latest attempt to thwart the hosting of the G20 Summit after he refused to attend or send a delegation, shows that Trump won’t stop at nothing in convincing himself and his supporters of his lies.
That he now intends to bar South Africa from attending the next G20 Summit in his country is a sign of a bully that is seeking relevance when the whole world has lost interest. The US can no longer claim to be a world leader when its president is the biggest distributor of fake news. The irony!
In his opinion article, activist Sandile Ngidi remarks: “The American empire is irrelevant as a beacon of exemplary and ethical leadership in global affairs today. But this is not entirely new, Trump simply makes the unravelling of American imperialism more dramatic, if not tragic. What perhaps remains unresolved, is how long the American electorate will allow Trump to reduce their country into a paranoia state, an empire of appalling tantrums and ragtag diplomacy.”
Thankfully there are those brave enough to tell him to back-off. We should be counted among them and that is why the leadership of this country, despite its challenges, is to be commended for standing up to Trump.
The government should now shift its focus on the lobby groups that help Trump with his false white genocide claim. Their unpatriotic conduct is nothing less than being treasonous.
We have seen how demeaning Trump can be given the opportunity. The world has grown tired of him; so should the Americans. Unless he is a true reflection of that nation.
CAPE TIMES