jpr9954
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- South Africa
The US has expelled the ambassador to the US from South Africa Ebrahim Rasool over alleged comments he made. Rasool is reported to have said that Donald Trump was leading a global white supremacist movement. In response, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X that Rasool was a "race-baiting politician who hates America and hates @POTUS". He then declared him persona non grata saying the US has nothing to discuss with him.
From NPR:
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he's kicking out the new Ambassador from South Africa — accusing him of hating America and hating Donald Trump.
It's the latest salvo against South Africa, which has been in the administration's crosshairs since Trump took office in January.
In a fiery post on X on Friday, Secretary Rubio called Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool a "race baiting politician" and said he was considered "a persona non grata."
Rubio's ire came after Rasool said in an online seminar hosted by a South African think tank that the MAGA movement was partially in response to worries about demographic change and a future when white Americans would no longer be the majority.
"So in terms of that — the supremacist assault on incumbency, we see it in the domestic politics of the USA, the MAGA movement — the Make America Great Again movement — as a response not simply to a supremacist instinct, but to very clear data that shows great demographic shifts in the USA in which the voting electorate in the USA is projected to become 48% white, and that the possibility of a majority of minorities is looming on the horizon," said Rasool.
The South African government on Saturday scrambled to contain the fallout, issuing a short, terse statement. Vincent Magwenya, spokesman for the South African president, called the ambassador's expulsion "regrettable."
"We urge all relevant and impacted stakeholders to maintain the established diplomatic decorum in their engagement with the matter," he said. "South Africa remains committed to building a mutually beneficial relationship with the United States of America."
And the BBC:
The US is expelling South Africa's ambassador to Washington, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio describing him as a "race-baiting politician".
In a post on X, Rubio accused Ebrahim Rasool of hating the US and President Donald Trump, and said the ambassador was "no longer welcome in our great country".
The office for South Africa's president on Saturday called the decision "regrettable", adding that the country remained committed to building a mutually beneficial relationship with the US.
The rare move by the US marks the latest development in rising tensions between the two countries.
Finally, from the German-owned DW News...
.
From NPR:
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he's kicking out the new Ambassador from South Africa — accusing him of hating America and hating Donald Trump.
It's the latest salvo against South Africa, which has been in the administration's crosshairs since Trump took office in January.
In a fiery post on X on Friday, Secretary Rubio called Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool a "race baiting politician" and said he was considered "a persona non grata."
Rubio's ire came after Rasool said in an online seminar hosted by a South African think tank that the MAGA movement was partially in response to worries about demographic change and a future when white Americans would no longer be the majority.
"So in terms of that — the supremacist assault on incumbency, we see it in the domestic politics of the USA, the MAGA movement — the Make America Great Again movement — as a response not simply to a supremacist instinct, but to very clear data that shows great demographic shifts in the USA in which the voting electorate in the USA is projected to become 48% white, and that the possibility of a majority of minorities is looming on the horizon," said Rasool.
The South African government on Saturday scrambled to contain the fallout, issuing a short, terse statement. Vincent Magwenya, spokesman for the South African president, called the ambassador's expulsion "regrettable."
"We urge all relevant and impacted stakeholders to maintain the established diplomatic decorum in their engagement with the matter," he said. "South Africa remains committed to building a mutually beneficial relationship with the United States of America."
And the BBC:
The US is expelling South Africa's ambassador to Washington, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio describing him as a "race-baiting politician".
In a post on X, Rubio accused Ebrahim Rasool of hating the US and President Donald Trump, and said the ambassador was "no longer welcome in our great country".
The office for South Africa's president on Saturday called the decision "regrettable", adding that the country remained committed to building a mutually beneficial relationship with the US.
The rare move by the US marks the latest development in rising tensions between the two countries.
Finally, from the German-owned DW News...
