South African ambassador 'no longer welcome' in country, US Secretary of State says

According to reports, the U.S. Secretary of State has stated that the South African ambassador to the United States is "no longer welcome," marking the latest move by the Trump administration against the African nation. This comes after U.S. Senator Marco Rubio accused Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool on social media platform X of being a "race-baiting politician" who hates former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Rubio subsequently declared the South African diplomat persona non grata. Neither Rubio nor the U.S. State Department has provided a direct explanation for this decision. Rubio released the news after returning to Washington from attending the G7 foreign ministers' meeting in Canada, linking his post to a Breitbart News website report about a previous speech given by Ambassador Rasool.

During a webinar hosted by a South African think tank, Ambassador Rasool discussed the actions taken by the Trump administration, placing them within the context of the impending demographic shift in the United States, where the white population is nearing minority status. Trump and his ally Elon Musk have both criticized a new land law introduced by the black-led government of South Africa, claiming it discriminates against white people.

The office of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa issued a statement saying it had "noted the unfortunate event of the expulsion of Ambassador Rasool" and called on its diplomatic officials to "maintain established diplomatic protocols in handling the matter." Ambassador Rasool previously served as South Africa's ambassador to the United States from 2010 to 2015 and returned to the position in January of this year.

Ambassador Rasool, a former anti-apartheid activist, spoke at the Friday webinar about the Trump administration's crackdown on diversity and equity programs and immigration. He pointed out that Trump's "Make America Great Again" campaign was a response to the massive demographic changes in the United States, where the electorate is projected to be 48% white. He also criticized Musk's engagement with the European far-right, calling it a "political suggestion" in a global movement aimed at uniting those who consider themselves part of "beleaguered white communities."

Ambassador Rasool did not directly attack Trump, but rather offered advice on dealing with the Trump administration, saying, "Now is not the time to confront the United States," and "Let us avoid those things that are contemptuous of the United States." Previously, Trump signed an executive order cutting aid to the South African government. In the order, Trump stated that Afrikaners (primarily descendants of Dutch colonizers) in South Africa were being targeted by a new law allowing the government to expropriate private land.

The South African government has denied that its new law is racially motivated and stated that Trump's claims about the country and the law are full of misinformation and distortion. Trump claimed that land was being expropriated from Afrikaners, but in reality, no land has been expropriated under the law. The law allows the government to expropriate land in specific circumstances, such as when land is unused or when land redistribution is in the public interest. The law aims to address the legacy of South Africa's apartheid era, when black people were deprived of their land. Trump also announced a plan to offer refugee status in the United States to Afrikaners, who are only a portion of South Africa's white minority.