SOUTH Africa’s former ambassador to the United States, Ebrahim Rasool, has been expelled from the country following remarks accusing President Donald Trump’s administration of racism. In an interview with the BBC, Rasool described the racism as ‘self-evident’, sparking a sharp diplomatic fallout between Washington and Pretoria.
Rasool, 62, was ordered to leave the US last week after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio branded him a ‘race-baiting politician who hates America’. The move came after Rasool criticised Trump for ‘projecting white victimhood as a dog whistle’, pointing to policies on immigration and pro-Palestinian student protests as evidence of discriminatory targeting.
‘Self-evident’ racism and diplomatic backlash
Speaking to the BBC’s Newshour in one of his first interviews since being expelled, Rasool stopped short of using blunt language but said: ‘I think it is self-evident rather than anyone needing to be called out.’ He added: ‘When a piece of wood has a hinge, you begin to suspect it’s a door.’
Rasool highlighted the Trump administration’s hardline immigration stance, its efforts to deport migrants, and what he described as the targeting of foreign students for supporting Palestine. He also accused Trump’s team of energising far-right groups in the US.
The Trump administration has strongly denied accusations of racism. President Trump maintains that deporting undocumented migrants is part of his electoral mandate and has defended recent visa revocations, particularly those involving student protestors. Secretary Rubio, meanwhile, said the decision to expel Rasool was necessary to protect ‘American values’.
‘You can’t smile through every lie’
Rasool, who previously served as ambassador under President Obama from 2010 to 2015, returned to the US in 2023. He told the BBC he had no regrets about his remarks, and while he understood a diplomat’s role involves maintaining communication, he said diplomacy shouldn’t mean ‘flattering your host into liking you’.
‘We’ve smiled through a lie about white genocide. We’ve smiled through the punishment of cutting all aid. At some point, South Africa’s dignity is also at stake,’ he stated.
Asked whether he was surprised by the US response, Rasool replied: ‘I was surprised by the thinness of the skin and the inability to accept intellectual critique.’
He also directly rejected claims that South Africa’s Afrikaner population is persecuted. ‘It’s an unadulterated lie,’ he said, accusing Trump of undermining the democratic ideals that Nelson Mandela stood for.
Tensions boiling over
Relations between South Africa and the US have deteriorated sharply since Trump returned to office in January. Trump has ended all US aid to South Africa and vowed to offer asylum to members of the white Afrikaner population, whom he claims are being persecuted—an assertion rejected outright by the South African government.
Trump’s criticisms have extended to South Africa’s land reform plans, particularly the Expropriation Law that allows for land seizures without compensation in certain cases.
The rift widened further when South Africa lodged a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in December 2023, accusing it of genocide in Gaza—allegations Israel has denied. The case angered Washington, which remains a close ally of Israel.
No regrets, just resolve
Rasool’s outspoken comments and subsequent expulsion have elevated him to hero status back home, where he received a warm welcome upon his return. Speaking to the BBC World Service, he said: ‘What I did was to the best of my intellectual capacity to describe a phenomenon… it cannot be business as usual.’
For now, the diplomatic fallout continues, with both nations reassessing their ties in the face of rising global political polarisation.
