Johannesburg — The Trump administration expelled South Africa’s Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool on Friday, giving him 72 hours to leave the country. In a social media post, Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Rasool a “race-baiting politician who hates America” and President Trump.
In a diplomatic notice, the Department of State said that it would no longer recognize Ambassador Rasool as a “member of the [South African] mission from today, March 17,” adding that “his privileges and immunities will cease” and that he was “persona non grata” in the United States.
The expulsion came after Rasool, during a webinar hosted by the South African Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection, accused Mr. Trump of pursuing policies and practices that the diplomat characterized as “a white supremacist response to growing demographic diversity in the United States.”
Rasool was expelled just two months after he arrived in Washington to serve as his country’s envoy.
“Improving our relationship with the United States of America is a priority for us,” South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa told journalists on Monday, calling the U.S. “our second largest trading partner after China.”
“We have noted the displeasure that has been expressed by the United States, particularly about the remarks he made,” Ramaphosa said, adding that he expected Rasool to return to Pretoria and ” give me a full report.”
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It’s the latest in a string of incidents that have seen a marked deterioration of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and South Africa since Mr. Trump took office for his second term in January.
Speaking on South African television on Saturday, the country’s foreign minister said the decision by the U.S. to expel Rasool, who previously campaigned against the country’s racist Apartheid regime, was “unprecedented and regrettable,” before adding: “We need to find time to engage with each other behind closed doors, where the U.S. can raise their concerns with us, and we can also raise our concerns with them, because it is not helpful to engage in megaphone and Twitter diplomacy.”
A pro-Hamas, anti-Israel ambassador to the U.S.?
Rasool’s appointment to head the South African diplomatic mission in the U.S., by the ruling African National Congress party, was a contentious one even before he arrived in Washington, dividing opinions within the country’s new Government of National Unity (GNU). The ANC had to build the coalition government to maintain power after failing to win a significant enough majority in the last elections to govern on its own.
“Rasool’s appointment was opposed by all of the other political parties in the GNU, and was the first large point of contention between the parties,” Wiliam Gumede, a professor of public management at Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg, explained to CBS News.
“Eventually, the non-ANC partners caved in,” Gumede said, which led to Rasool getting the job.
“He is perceived to be pro-Iran and Hamas, as well as strongly anti-Israel, which is largely why it was felt he was the wrong choice for the ambassador post,” Gumede told CBS News.
Rasool has long been a controversial figure in South African politics, having spoken favorably of the U.S.- and Israeli-designated terrorist organization Hamas, and even boasting of his ties with the group’s leadership. He is a strong backer of the case South Africa filed with the United Nations’ top court, accusing Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip. Israel has vehemently rejected that accusation, arguing that its war in the Palestinian enclave has been a legitimate self-defense against Hamas following the group’s Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack.
Gumede said he believed the way for Ramaphosa to ease the tension with Washington was for the South African president to publicly label Rasool’s comments “unacceptable,” while also giving a detailed acknowledgement of how important relations and aid from the U.S. are to South Africa.
The analyst said if such measures were not taken by Pretoria to smooth the relationship, the impasse could deepen, with significant implications for South Africa.
“I fear the next step steps could be targeted economic sanctions against South Africa, which would mean we are in danger of losing 300,000 to 400,000 direct jobs in the country, as well as hundreds of thousands more jobs through indirect channels,” he said.
“It’s not too late” Gumede added. “President Trump has a lot of South Africans in his inner circle. We need to engage them and put together a team of non-ANC partners from the Government of National Unity to travel to the U.S. and engage the Trump team. The relationship is simply too important not to.”
