Ebrahim Rasool, South Africa’s ambassador to the United States, returned home to a hero’s welcome after being expelled by the Trump administration. Greeted by hundreds of cheering supporters at Cape Town International Airport, the 62-year-old vowed he had “no regrets” about the comments that led to his removal.
The rare diplomatic expulsion followed remarks Rasool made during a webinar, where he accused President Donald Trump of “mobilising a supremacism” amid growing racial tensions in the U.S. As a result, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared him persona non grata, calling him a “race-baiting politician who hates America.”
A Defiant Stance
Addressing the media upon arrival, Rasool defended his comments, saying they were intended to alert South African leaders and intellectuals to shifting political dynamics in the U.S.
“The old way of doing business with the United States was not a good one,” he said.
Supporters from the ANC, the South African Communist Party, and local trade unions rallied at the airport, holding placards that read:
“Ebrahim Rasool, you have served our country with honour!”
US-South Africa Tensions Boil Over
Rasool’s expulsion is the most dramatic chapter yet in a rapidly deteriorating relationship between the two nations since Trump’s return to office. Earlier this year, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a land expropriation bill allowing property to be seized without compensation—fueling accusations from Washington of racial discrimination against white Afrikaners.
In response, the U.S. cut aid to South Africa, citing concerns over human rights and fairness.
Rasool, who previously served as South Africa’s U.S. envoy under Barack Obama from 2010 to 2015, was reappointed due to his strong diplomatic network. Unfortunately, he said Sunday, he was not given the chance to challenge the Trump administration’s views before being expelled.
