Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Friday that South Africa’s ambassador to the U.S., Ebrahim Rasool, is no longer welcome, escalating tensions between the Trump administration and South Africa.
Rubio, posting on X, accused Rasool of being a “race-baiting politician” who hates President Donald Trump and declared him persona non grata. Neither Rubio nor the State Department provided an official reason, but Rubio linked to a Breitbart article about Rasool’s remarks in a South African think tank webinar earlier that day.
In the webinar, Rasool analyzed U.S. demographic shifts and the Trump administration’s actions on diversity, immigration, and far-right movements. He also criticized Elon Musk’s outreach to far-right European figures, calling it a “dog whistle” to embattled white communities. However, he urged South Africa not to antagonize the U.S.
Rasool’s expulsion follows Trump’s executive order cutting U.S. aid to South Africa, citing a land law that he claims discriminates against Afrikaners, the country’s white minority. South Africa denies the law is race-based, arguing it aims to correct apartheid-era land injustices.
Musk, who leads Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, has amplified Trump’s claims, suggesting white South Africans face persecution.
Sources
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