US government: South Africa's ambassador no longer welcome

"South Africa's ambassador to the United States is no longer welcome in our great country," Rubio wrote on the X platform. This was discussed with him and Ebrahim Rasool was declared persona non grata.

With a declaration of "persona non grata", a state can terminate the activities of a diplomat on its territory. This usually means that the person must leave the country within a certain period of time.

Rubio also shared a link from the right-wing online medium "Breitbart", in which statements by Rasool were discussed. In a video workshop at a South African think tank, the diplomat had argued, among other things, that US President Donald Trump, together with forces such as tech billionaire Elon Musk and Vice President J.D. Vance, was strengthening nationalist forces not only in the USA but also worldwide. In this context, he also mentioned the Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Rasool referred to the demographic change in the USA and explained that the shrinking of the white majority society must be taken into account as a context for certain political developments. He described how the narrative of a threatened white identity is used to mobilize political support - regardless of whether this threat is real or not.

Rubio accuses the diplomat of hatred of America

Based on these statements, Rubio accused Rasool of using a racist narrative and deliberately stirring up tensions. He stated that the diplomat hates America and Trump.

Relations between the USA and South Africa have been at a low point since Trump took office. Trump is particularly bothered by a law passed in South Africa that allows land to be expropriated in the public interest to compensate for injustices that occurred during the racist apartheid era (1948-1994). At that time, land was systematically distributed unequally along ethnic lines, especially to white South Africans.

The law provides for compensation payments for landowners. Expropriations may only take place if previous acquisition negotiations have been unsuccessful. Trump had already frozen aid to South Africa at the beginning of February because of the law. He wants to recognize affected South African farmers as refugees.