US claims SA’s ambassador made ‘unacceptable’ remarks

Key topics:.US declares SA's ambassador persona non grata over Trump criticism.Trump halts foreign aid to SA, prioritizes Afrikaner refugees.US cites SA's ties with Russia, Iran, and ICJ genocide case against Israel..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..Support South Africa's bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here..If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By Eric Martin___STEADY_PAYWALL___.Comments from South Africa's ambassador about the Trump administration were "unacceptable" and "obscene," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said Monday, providing further explanation why the envoy is no longer welcome in Washington..Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool "persona non grata" on Friday after the diplomat said that Trump and his supporters are effectively a "supremacist" movement projecting "White victimhood." .Read More: Rubio Says South Africa Envoy 'Persona Non Grata' Amid Feud."These remarks were unacceptable to the United States," Bruce said in a briefing. "Not just to the president, but to every American. They were pretty much obscene when it came to the nature of what was alleged.".Rasool is expected to leave the US by Friday, Bruce said, one week after State Department staff met with South African diplomats to communicate their decision. .South Africa's Ambassador to the United States is no longer welcome in our great country.Ebrahim 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.https://t.co/mnUnwGOQdx— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) March 14, 2025.Bruce said Rasool's comments came on top of other positions by the South African government that the White House finds problematic. Those include land laws Trump and Rubio allege are unjust toward White South African farmers, a "growing relationship" with Russia and Iran, and bringing accusations of genocide against Israel at the International Court of Justice. .The racially charged feud between the two countries was partly spurred by Trump's South African-born billionaire adviser Elon Musk, who has spread the conspiracy theory of a "genocide" against South Africa's White farmers..Trump has signed an executive order halting US foreign assistance to South Africa and declared that the US refugee system would give priority to Afrikaner "victims of unjust racial discrimination.".The Trump administration has claimed South Africa is expropriating their land, although authorities have not confiscated any private land since the end of apartheid in 1994..Rubio's declaration on Rasool came after his comments, made during a lengthy virtual event with a think-tank in Johannesburg, were reported by Breitbart News last week..Raed also:.🔒 Rubio declares South African envoy 'Persona Non Grata' over Trump remarks, escalating diplomatic feud🔒 US threatens to shut Johannesburg consulate over Leila Khaled Street name rowJoel Pollak: SA govt need to seriously rethink their approach to US-SA diplomacy following Rasool's expulsion.© 2025 Bloomberg L.P.

US claims SA’s ambassador made ‘unacceptable’ remarks

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