U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that South Africa’s ambassador to the U.S. is a “race-baiting politician” who is no longer welcome in the country — the latest sign of tension between the Trump administration and the African nation.
Rubio declared that Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool is persona non grata in a social media post after the diplomat accused President Donald Trump of promoting global white supremacy.
“South Africa’s Ambassador to the United States is no longer welcome in our great country,” Rubio said on X. “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.”
The rare move to declare the diplomat unwelcome comes amid deteriorating relations apparently driven, at least in part, by the billionaire Elon Musk, the close Trump adviser who is a native of South Africa.
The president signed an executive order last month to halt aid to South Africa because of what the administration called “egregious’ actions” taken by the country, referencing a land expropriation law that Trump claimed unfairly targets the white Afrikaner minority. Afrikaners own the majority of land in South Africa, 30 years after the end of apartheid.
Musk has also amplified allegations of anti-white racism in South Africa, claiming as recently as last week that “Starlink is not allowed to operate in South Africa, because I’m not black.”
In return, Rasool has criticized Trump and his allies for promoting white supremacy not just at home but around the world, citing Musk and Vice President JD Vance’s support of U.K. reform politician Nigel Farage and the far-right Alternative for Germany party.
Former U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Patrick Gaspard, who now leads the Center for American Progress, was quick to comment on the rupture. “The US / South Africa relationship has now reached its lowest point,” he wrote on X. “There’s too much at stake to not work towards the repair of this partnership.”
