The United States is expelling the South African ambassador to Washington, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio accusing the envoy of harboring hatred toward the country and former President Donald Trump.
“The South African ambassador to the United States is no longer welcome in our great country,” Rubio posted on X on Friday.
Rubio accused Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool of being a politician who “hates America.” “We have nothing to discuss with him, and as such, he is considered persona non grata.”
Neither Rubio nor the State Department provided an immediate explanation for the decision.
Rasool had previously pointed to Elon Musk’s connections with far-right figures in Europe, calling him a “dog whistle” in a global movement trying to unite people who see themselves as part of a “downtrodden white community.”
Rasool is a former anti-apartheid activist who was imprisoned for his activism and later became a politician in the African National Congress, the party of Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first president after apartheid.
