By Lauren Irwin
(Source: The Hill)
South Africa’s newly appointed U.S. envoy Mcebisi Jonas has already come under fire for remarks made about President Trump as the relationship between the two countries has crumbled in recent months.
Jonas, who was appointed Monday by President Cyril Ramaphosa, called Trump a racist and homophobic during a speech in 2020, just days after former President Biden defeated Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
“Right now, the U.S. is undergoing a watershed moment, with Biden the certain winner in the presidential race against the racist, homophobic Donald Trump,” Jonas said at the time. “How we got to a situation where a narcissistic right-winger took charge of the world’s greatest economic and military powerhouse is something that we need to ponder over. It is something that all democracies need to ponder over.”
The resurfacing of these remarks comes after the Trump administration has expelled the country’s ambassador and halted aid to South Africa, The Associated Press reported.
He was speaking during South Africa’s annual Ahmed Kathrada Lecture, a speech for an anti-apartheid organization, the AP noted.
A spokesperson for the National Security Council said the country should consider if Jonas is the “right man for the job.” They added that the Trump administration is looking for a credible diplomat and someone like Jonas “raises questions” about South Africa’s commitment to rebuilding a relationship with the U.S.
Last month, South African Ambassador to the U.S. Ebrahim Rasool was expelled from the country and labeled persona non grata by the Trump administration. Rasool called the expulsion and new status a “badge of dignity.”
“It was not our choice to come home, but we come home with no regrets,” the diplomat said upon his return to Africa.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed Rasool was a “race-baiting politician” after he accused Trump of leading a white supremacist movement. South Africa has yet to name a new ambassador to the U.S.
The Trump administration has also criticized South Africa for its relationship with Iran and criticism of the Israeli government.
In February, the Trump administration halted all aid to South Africa due to these positions as well as a law intended to combat the apartheid era. Trump hammered South Africa for allegedly seizing “ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation” in an executive order.
In late March, after Rasool’s expulsion, Trump named Leo Brent Bozell III, a conservative media critic and pro-Israel commentator, to be the new U.S. ambassador to South Africa.
