President Cyril Ramaphosa jetted off to Washington to meet US President Donald Trump on Wednesday in what will be more than just a polite diplomatic handshake across the Atlantic. The air is thick with suspicion and opportunity.
South Africa–US relations have always been a high-wire act, but this time the stakes are sky-high.
The “reset” presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya talks about “is not a courtesy call — it’s a gamble with everything on the table: trade, dignity, and the future of a partnership that’s seen better days”. Pretoria, of course, has its script polished to perfection.
Magwenya, the media’s chief conductor of this diplomatic orchestra, wasn’t about to let American right-wing paranoia set the tune.
White genocide narrative
At a media briefing on US soil, he batted away the persistent, conspiratorial narrative of “white persecution” in South Africa.
Remember those stories that get Fox News viewers frothing and a few Trump advisers nodding along? Magwenya didn’t mince words: “The whole world knows there is no such thing as a persecution of any particular race in South Africa.” Translation: We’re not playing firefighter to your fever dreams — we’re here to talk business.
And business, in this case, means AGOA — the African Growth and Opportunity Act — the decades-old trade scheme that props up South African exports to America. The Trump administration’s record is anything but predictable.
So, says Magwenya, we don’t wait for the axe to fall; we prepare for every scenario. “Whether AGOA stays or whether AGOA goes, it’s about putting a new deal on the table.”
No melodrama, just hard bargaining: if the US wants to walk away, Pretoria will have a Plan B ready to slide across the table. Pragmatism, not panic. That’s the brief.
But the plot thickens. It’s not just about bilateral trade. South Africa is G20 president, holding the gavel in a year when multilateralism is gasping for oxygen. Rumours have been swirling. Some say the White House has quietly told its people to ghost G20 events hosted in Joburg.
G20 event
Magwenya, ever the cool operator, isn’t biting. “That so-called instruction? We’ve not received any formal communication.”
Instead, the Americans have shown up to every G20 Troika meeting so far. And Trump’s invitation to the summit still stands. If the US wants to play games, Pretoria’s response is classic: keep the lines open, don’t take the bait. And let the chips fall where they may.
Of course, the global stage is rarely without its ambushes. Some anxious observers whisper: will Ramaphosa be set up for a “Zelensky moment”—publicly blindsided and humiliated in front of the world’s cameras?
Magwenya waves it off. “He’s not apprehensive at all… President Ramaphosa is not President Zelenski. He’s got his own style of engaging.” In other words: don’t expect Cyril to be anyone’s punching bag — or to play the victim.
Magwenya says the visit isn’t about scoring instant wins or penning fat, final agreements. It’s about laying the groundwork, reading the room. It’s about making sure South Africa’s interests aren’t chewed up for the next news cycle.
SA’s nobody’s pawn
Pretoria’s brought its A-team across the ocean — key diplomats, trade tsars, and political veterans. They’re not here to dot every “i” and cross every “t” on day one. They’re here to remind Washington that South Africa is nobody’s pawn, no matter how loud the political noise gets back home.
So, when the curtain closes on Wednesday’s big meeting, it won’t be about who smiled for the cameras or who scored a headline.
It’ll be about who left the table with power still in play — and who’s already thinking three moves ahead for the next round.
