Ebrahim Rasool: ‘US bullying SA, trying to force policy change’ – Expert

The US is bullying South Africa in an effort to force policy change, says independent political analyst Marisa Lourenço.

This was in reaction to the news that SA ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool, is no longer welcome in that country and has been expelled.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday night wrote on Elon Musk’s social media platform X, that Rasool “is no longer welcome in our great country” and that the country considers him “persona non grata”.

US-SA spat

Rubio described Rasool as a “race-baiting politician who hates America and hates Potus (the president of the United States)”.

Rasool accused US President Donald Trump of supremacism when he addressed the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (Mistra).

On Saturday, US Senate foreign relations committee chairperson, James E Risch, supported Rubio’s stance. 

“I applaud @secrubio for calling out the South African Ambassador’s disgraceful, anti-American hate speech. Suffice it to say that he is not cut out for diplomacy,” he also posted on X. 

The presidency and the department of international relations (Dirco) said they had taken note of Rubio’s comments.  

I applaud @secrubio for calling out the South African ambassador’s disgraceful, anti-American hate speech. Suffice it to say that he is not cut out for diplomacy. https://t.co/PznudmAVbF

— Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman (@SenateForeign) March 14, 2025

ALSO READ: US says SA ambassador to US ‘Ebrahim Rasool no longer welcome’

US relations

Speaking to The Citizen, independent political analyst Marisa Lourenço said South Africa and US relations are “deteriorating rapidly”.

“I think it’s worth noting that the US is trying to force change in South Africa because it needs the latter. We don’t see the US behaving in the same way to African countries that have a much more pronounced anti-US, anti-Western rhetoric.

“If the US didn’t need South Africa, it would simply ignore it. Many US businesses are in South Africa and many more use the country as the gateway to the rest of the sub-Saharan African region. So I don’t see this as the end to US-South Africa ties, even though it is a difficult time and will likely continue to be,” Lourenço said.  

‘US bullying SA’

Lourenço said the US may be “bullying” South Africa.

“I think it’s fair to say that the US has been bullying South Africa to try to affect policy change. But I think it is also fair to say that Rasool’s comments were inappropriate. It’s undiplomatic for an ambassador to call the leader of his host country a supremacist.

“Others may argue, why not call a spade a spade? Certainly, parts of the Trump administration’s rhetoric is underpinned by a certain rhetoric. But I would counter that and say, ‘why behave in the same manner?’ Why antagonise the US at such a tense time and behave as erratically?” Lourenço said.

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SA’s foreign policy

Lourenço added that South Africa’s foreign policy leaves a lot to be desired.

“It’s extraordinarily inconsistent. The government says it won’t let the US interfere with its domestic policies but follows China’s order to shut down the Taiwanese embassy. It took Israel to the ICC for genocide, but still continues to sell its coal to Israel.

“It’s refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and is now going to welcome Ukrainian President Zelensky to the country next month. I’m all for a non-aligned stance, but the inconsistency is bad for our international relations. Our foreign policy is far too influenced by the politics of the ANC, which uses ideology as an excuse to further its own internal aims,” Lourenço said.

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‘SA won’t be bullied’

President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed rising global tensions during his State of the Nation (Sona) address in February.

While Ramaphosa did not mention Trump directly, he said South Africa “must chart this path in a world that is rapidly changing”.

“It is a world of both interdependence and competition, of cooperation and conflict. It is a multipolar world in which new countries are emerging to play a greater role in global affairs. We are seeing intensifying competition over trade, technology and influence in global institutions.

“In the face of these challenges, we are witnessing the rise of nationalism and protectionism, the pursuit of narrow interests and the decline of common cause. This is the world that we, as a developing economy, must now navigate. But we are not daunted. We will not be deterred. We are a resilient people. We will not be bullied. We will stand together as a united nation and we will speak with one voice in defence of our national interests, our sovereignty and our constitutional democracy,” Ramaphosa said.

Ramaphosa said the government spent much of the week defending the country’s reputation and legal processes after Trump announced on Truth Social that he would cut all US funding to South Africa.

Afrikaners

The Citizen reported that Trump signed an executive order last month halting federal aid to South Africa after Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Act, which the US president said imposes “unjust racial discrimination” against white Afrikaner farmers.

On Wednesday, the US state department said it was working with the department of homeland security and other partners to implement Trump’s executive order to resettle Afrikaners in the US.

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