The Trump administration has declared South Africa’s ambassador to the U.S., Ebrahim Rasool, “persona non grata,” accusing him of being a “race-baiting politician” after he criticized President Trump.
In a post on the social media platform X, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “South Africa’s Ambassador to the United States is no longer welcome in our great country. Emrahim Rasool is a race-baiting politician who hates America and hates @POTUS. We have nothing to discuss with him and so he is considered PERSONA NON GRATA.”
Rubio shared an article from the right-wing news outlet Breitbart that covered Rasool’s recent comments. Speaking to the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection in Johannesburg, South Africa, Rasool accused Trump of leading a “white supremacist movement.”
Rasool explained that the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement was fueled by racial fears, pointing to changes in the U.S. voting population and a fear of demographic shifts, which he said led to the rise of the MAGA movement and policies like building a border wall and deporting immigrants.
“So in terms of that, the supremacist assault on incumbency, we see it in the domestic politics of the USA, the MAGA movement, the Make America Great Again movement, as a response not simply to a supremacist instinct, but to very clear data that shows great demographic shifts in the USA in which the voting electorate in the USA is projected to become 48 percent white,” Rasool said.
“And so that needs to be factored in, so that we understand some of the things that we think are instinctive, nativist, racist things, I think that there’s data that, for example, would support that, that would go to this wall being built, the deportation movement,” the South Africa diplomat added.
Declaring a diplomat “persona non grata” is a formal reprimand that can force the individual to leave the country.
Rasool previously served as South Africa’s ambassador to the U.S. from 2010 to 2015, and returned to the role earlier this year.
This move comes amid growing tension between the U.S. and South Africa. In early February, Trump signed an executive order to pause aid to South Africa, criticizing the country for taking land from white farmers without compensation. This followed the passing of the Expropriation Act in South Africa, which allows the government to seize land in certain circumstances.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa responded, defending the law as a constitutional process to ensure fair land access.
Before Trump’s executive order, Rubio announced he would skip the G20 summit in Johannesburg, accusing South Africa of “expropriating private property” and using the event to promote “solidarity, equality, and sustainability” – terms he criticized as part of a focus on diversity and climate change.
In response to concerns over the treatment of white farmers in South Africa, Trump said earlier this month that he is offering a fast track to U.S. citizenship for some of them. He again accused the South African government of seizing farms and mistreating landowners.
Patrick Gaspard, the former U.S. ambassador to South Africa, said that relations between the two countries have reached a low point. He stressed the importance of repairing the relationship, stating, “There’s too much at stake to not work towards the repair of this partnership.”
