Newsman: 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. 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 — the latest sign of tension between the Trump administration and the African nation.
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.
