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South African ambassador 'no longer welcome' in US, Rubio says South African ambassador 'no longer welcome' in US, Rubio says
(about 5 hours later)
The US is expelling South Africa's ambassador to Washington, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying he is "no longer welcome in our great country". The US is expelling South Africa's ambassador to Washington, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio describing him as a "race-baiting politician".
In a post on X, Rubio accused Ebrahim Rasool of hating America and President Donald Trump and described him as a "race-baiting politician". In a post on X, Rubio accused Ebrahim Rasool of hating the US and President Donald Trump, and said the ambassador was "no longer welcome in our great country".
The office for South Africa's president on Saturday called the decision "regrettable", adding that the country remained committed to building a mutually beneficial relationship with America. The office for South Africa's president on Saturday called the decision "regrettable", adding that the country remained committed to building a mutually beneficial relationship with the US.
The rare move by the US marks the latest development in rising tensions between the two countries.The rare move by the US marks the latest development in rising tensions between the two countries.
While lower-ranking diplomats are sometimes expelled, it's highly unusual in the US for it to happen to a more senior official.
In his post on Friday, Rubio linked to an article from the right-wing outlet Breitbart that quoted some of Rasool's recent remarks made during an online lecture about the Trump administration.In his post on Friday, Rubio linked to an article from the right-wing outlet Breitbart that quoted some of Rasool's recent remarks made during an online lecture about the Trump administration.
"What Donald Trump is launching is an assault on incumbency, those who are in power, by mobilising a supremacism against the incumbency, at home… and abroad," Rasool said at the event. At the event, Rasool said Trump was "mobilising a supremacism" and trying to "project white victimhood as a dog whistle" as the white population faced becoming a minority in the US.
He added that the Maga movement was a response "to very clear data that shows great demographic shifts in the USA in which the voting electorate… is projected to become 48 percent white". "We see it in the domestic politics of the USA, the Maga 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% white," he said.
In response, Rubio called Rasool "PERSONA NON GRATA," referencing the Latin phrase for "unwelcome person". He suggested that South Africa was under attack because "we are the historical antidote to supremacism".
The post from Rubio came as he departed Canada from a meeting with foreign ministers. In response, Rubio called Rasool "PERSONA NON GRATA", referencing the Latin phrase for "unwelcome person".
Ties between the US and South Africa have been deteriorating since Trump took office.Ties between the US and South Africa have been deteriorating since Trump took office.
The US president signed an executive order last month that freezes assistance to South Africa. The order references "egregious actions" by South Africa and cites "unjust racial discrimination" against white Afrikaners - those who descended from Dutch settlers. Rasool (left) was sent to Washington again after gaining years of experience during his first stint
The South African government has repeatedly denied this. An executive order last month - which froze US assistance to South Africa - cited "unjust racial discrimination" against white Afrikaners, largely descended from Dutch settlers who first arrived in the 17th Century.
The order also references a new law, the Expropriation Act, that the order claims targets Afrikaners by allowing the government to take away private land. It references a new law, the Expropriation Act, that it claims targets Afrikaners by allowing the government to take away private land.
"As long as South Africa continues to support bad actors on the world stage and allows violent attacks on innocent disfavored minority farmers, the United States will stop aid and assistance to the country," according to a statement from the White House. "As long as South Africa continues to support bad actors on the world stage and allows violent attacks on innocent disfavoured minority farmers, the United States will stop aid and assistance to the country," a statement from the White House said at the time.
The government in South Africa denies its law is related to race, the Associated Press reported. South Africa's 2022 census noted that white people - including Afrikaners - made up 7.2% of the population. However, according to a 2018 land audit by the South African government, white farmers owned 72% of the country's individually-held farmland.
South Africa's government, which is made up of 10 parties led by the African National Congress (ANC), said earlier that the US president's actions were based on "a campaign of misinformation and propaganda aimed at misrepresenting our great nation".
It added no land had been seized without compensation and said this would only happen in exceptional circumstances, such as if land was needed for public use and all other avenues to acquire the land had been exhausted.
A fact sheet from the White House states the country "blatantly discriminates against ethnic minority descendants of settler groups".A fact sheet from the White House states the country "blatantly discriminates against ethnic minority descendants of settler groups".
While lower-ranking diplomats are sometimes expelled, it's highly unusual in the US for it to happen to a more senior official like a foreign ambassador, the Associated Press reported, noting neither the US nor Russia took such actions against one another even amid tensions during the Cold War. Rasool - who previously served as US ambassador from 2010 to 2015 - was himself forcibly removed from his home in Cape Town's District Six as a child after it was declared a white area under the Apartheid government.
Rasool previously served as the country's ambassador to the US from 2010 to 2015 before being tapped again for the post in 2025. He would later describe the eviction as a significant moment in his upbringing which guided his future.
He was born and grew up in Cape Town. When he was nine, he and his family were forcibly removed from an apartment that was declared only for white people. As he grew older, he became more interested in politics and said the eviction was a significant moment in his upbringing that guided his future. Rasool became Pretoria's ambassador to the US again in 2024.
Unnamed sources in the South African government told online news site Daily Maverick at the time that he was thought to be well placed to deal with a Trump administration because of the experience and contacts he had acquired during his first stint as ambassador.