Trump personally gives Israeli hostage presidential coin; Press Sec: US not G20 in South Africa

Several significant moments. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the U.S. is not participating in official talks at the G20 summit in South Africa due to the South African president’s anti-Trump/anti-US rhetoric. President Trump personally met with freed Israeli hostages and gave each a presidential challenge coin — telling them “You’re not a hostage anymore. Today you’re heroes.” Trump: “We love you all and our country loves you all and the world is watching and really you’re amazing people.” Rep. Stacey Plaskett appeared on CNN defending her 2019 coordination with Jeffrey Epstein during congressional hearing — she claimed Epstein “had information” she wanted for getting “at the truth.” When confronted that Epstein was a known sex offender at that time, Plaskett said “there are a lot of people who have done a lot of crimes” and “as a prosecutor, you get information from people where you can.” Rep. Grijalva (D-AZ) refused to condemn Plaskett, saying “I reserve judgment until I hear the full story.” Leavitt: “The United States is not participating in official talks at the G20 in South Africa. I saw the South African president running his mouth a little bit against the United States and the president of the United States earlier today and that language is not appreciated.” Trump to hostages: “You’re not a hostage anymore. Today you’re heroes.” Plaskett: “I believed that Jeffrey Epstein had information and I was going to get information to get at the truth.”

G20 Snub

Press Secretary Leavitt opened. “These are super coins. Go ahead. The United States is not participating in official talks at the G20 in South Africa.”

“Super coins” referenced the presidential challenge coins Trump was distributing. Leavitt was stepping away to attend Trump’s hostage meeting.

The G20 news: U.S. withdrawing from official participation at South Africa G20 summit.

“I saw the South African president running his mouth a little bit against the United States and the president of the United States earlier today and that language is not appreciated by the president or his team.”

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa had apparently delivered anti-Trump or anti-U.S. comments at the summit. Leavitt’s response: U.S. officially withdrawing from talks.

“Ambassador or the representative of the embassy in South Africa is simply there to recognize that the United States will be the host of the G20. They are receiving that send off at the end of the event. They are not there to participate in official talks despite what the South African president is falsely claiming.”

U.S. presence limited to:

Ambassador/embassy representative
Attending G20 handoff ceremony (U.S. hosts next G20)
NOT participating in substantive talks

The diplomatic snub is significant. G20 is among the most important international economic forums. U.S. non-participation sends strong signal.

South Africa Context

The U.S.-South Africa relationship had been deteriorating:

South Africa’s ICJ genocide case against Israel
Anti-Israel positions broadly
BRICS membership and China alignment
Land expropriation policies
Attacks on white South African farmers

Trump administration had been applying pressure on South Africa. The G20 snub is escalation.

Hostage Meeting

Trump’s meeting with freed Israeli hostages. “These are super coins. Go ahead.”

Presidential challenge coins — the same kind Trump gave children at events, but distributed with particular meaning to hostages recently freed from Hamas captivity.

“I’m honored to get to know all of you. I know some of you already. I know some of the previous hostages that we got out very well. We love you all and our country loves you all and the world is watching and really you’re amazing people. Thank you very much.”

Trump’s personal framework:

Honored to meet
Knows some personally (previous groups)
Love from America
“The world is watching”
“Amazing people”

The trauma these hostages survived is extraordinary. Held in tunnels for 770+ days. Some subjected to torture. Some to sexual violence. All to severe deprivation.

“Hostages. You’re not a hostage anymore. Today you’re heroes. You’re heroes. Thank you very much.”

Trump’s powerful reframing:

Not hostages
Heroes
Identity transformed by survival

The “heroes” framing honors their endurance. Not victims — survivors and witnesses. Their testimony matters for the world’s understanding of Hamas brutality.

Leavitt Continues

“I’m going to let you all go because the president, excuse me, the president, I appreciate the encouragement this morning but this afternoon, but President Trump is about to meet in minutes with Israeli hostages who this administration freed.”

Leavitt prioritizing attendance at Trump-hostage meeting. “This administration freed” these hostages — taking credit for the diplomatic work that secured their release.

“And so I’m going to go up to that meeting and you will hear more about that later. Thank you.”

Plaskett on CNN

The transcript then captured Rep. Stacey Plaskett’s CNN interview addressing her 2019 Epstein coordination.

“Vote against this Republican attempt to censure Plaskett for her conversations with Epstein.”

The context: Republicans had moved to censure Plaskett for her Epstein text coordination.

“But do you think there should be an ethics investigation that a member of Congress, I know she’s a Democratic colleague, was texting with a sexual predator in 2019?”

The CNN question was directed at Rep. Grijalva (D-AZ): should there be ethics investigation?

Grijalva Refuses

“Yeah, I think it’s important for us to understand what that whole transaction was.”

Grijalva’s deflection. Don’t investigate now; seek to “understand” first.

“Having been able to see just what happened with my colleague and an attempt to censure him in Chui Garcia, I know that most of the time when you hear one little snippet of what happened, it’s not the full story. And so I reserve judgment until I hear the full story.”

Grijalva cited Chuy Garcia (D-IL) censure attempt as precedent. Democratic members tend to defend each other from Republican accountability measures.

“Reserve judgment” = refuse to condemn publicly. Classic Democratic defense.

Plaskett Defends Herself

Plaskett then defended herself directly. “I believe that Jeffrey Epstein had information and I was going to get information to get at the truth.”

Plaskett’s framework:

Epstein had useful information
She was gathering information
Purpose was “truth”

“Having a relationship with him is not something that I would be needing to have. And so I’m just looking forward. I’m moving forward. And I think that that’s what we as American people should do is move forward.”

Plaskett’s self-assessment: didn’t need relationship with Epstein, moving forward.

But this doesn’t address what actually happened. Plaskett wasn’t just “in conversation” — she was actively taking Epstein’s texts DURING congressional hearings and using them to ask Michael Cohen political attack questions.

”Individuals Not Involved in Illegal Activity”

“If individuals are not involved in illegal activity, extending his criminal enterprise or his financial enterprise or all of those things, I think that we need to look at what people are doing moving forward.”

Plaskett’s framework: unless she was directly participating in Epstein’s sex trafficking or financial crimes, her conduct was acceptable.

The framework ignores:

Ethics standards beyond criminal law
Coordinating with convicted sex offender for political purposes
Using congressional hearing for political theater via external coordination
Treating convicted pedophile as source of legitimate political intelligence

CNN Pushback

“Wait, let me just better understand that. What is that point? Because at the time he was a known sex offender and it had been detailed all the sexual abuse.”

CNN pressed: Epstein was known sex offender in 2019. Abuse details were publicly documented. Why was Plaskett coordinating with him?

The CNN reporter (rare for CNN to press Democrat this hard) noted the critical fact: Epstein’s crimes were publicly known when Plaskett coordinated with him.

”A Lot of People Have Done Crimes”

“There are a lot of people who have done a lot of crimes. And as a prosecutor, you get information from people where you can.”

Plaskett’s defense:

Many criminals have committed crimes (true)
Prosecutors use criminal sources (true)
Therefore coordinating with Epstein was like prosecutor using criminal source

The analogy fails:

Plaskett was NOT a prosecutor in 2019
She was a Congresswoman
Congressional hearings are not criminal investigations
She was using Epstein’s info for political attack purposes

Significance

The exchange captures:

G20 snub: Major diplomatic signal. U.S. sending message to South Africa.
Hostage meeting: Trump personal warmth. Presidential challenge coins. “Heroes not hostages.”
Plaskett defense: Normalizing coordination with convicted sex offender for political purposes.
Grijalva refusal: Democratic collective defense of Plaskett regardless of conduct.
CNN pressing: Rare mainstream press accountability on Democrat misconduct.

The G20 matter will have consequences. Economic cooperation, intelligence sharing, and diplomatic relations with South Africa all potentially affected. Ramaphosa’s government faces choice: continue anti-U.S. rhetoric and pay consequences, or moderate and return to working relationship.

The hostage meeting is part of larger framework. Trump’s Gaza deal secured release of all remaining hostages. Personal meetings with freed hostages cement the administration’s accomplishment. Presidential challenge coins as mementos create lasting personal connections.

Plaskett’s defense is particularly weak. Her “prosecutor framework” is factually incorrect. Her “moving forward” framework deflects from actual misconduct. Her denial of needing relationship contradicts the documented text record.

Democratic collective defense (Grijalva) reveals party dysfunction. Rather than holding members accountable, Democrats circle wagons. This approach damages Democratic credibility on ethics issues generally.

Key Takeaways

Leavitt on G20: “The United States is not participating in official talks at the G20 in South Africa. I saw the South African president running his mouth a little bit against the United States and the president of the United States earlier today and that language is not appreciated by the president or his team.”
Trump to hostages: “I’m honored to get to know all of you … We love you all and our country loves you all and the world is watching and really you’re amazing people … You’re not a hostage anymore. Today you’re heroes.”
Grijalva refusing to condemn Plaskett: “I think it’s important for us to understand what that whole transaction was … I reserve judgment until I hear the full story.”
Plaskett’s defense: “I believe that Jeffrey Epstein had information and I was going to get information to get at the truth. Having a relationship with him is not something that I would be needing to have.”
Plaskett on Epstein’s known criminality: “There are a lot of people who have done a lot of crimes. And as a prosecutor, you get information from people where you can.”