The United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has declared South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool persona non grata, effectively barring him from the country.
Rubio made the announcement in a post on X Friday night, citing Rasool’s recent controversial remarks.
“Ebrahim Rasool is a race-baiting politician who hates America and hates POTUS,” Rubio stated, using the acronym for the President of the United States. “We have nothing to discuss with him, and so he is considered PERSONA NON GRATA.”
The move follows comments Rasool made at a foreign policy seminar in South Africa, where he reportedly accused US President Donald Trump of leading a global white supremacist movement. According to Breitbart, Rasool was discussing Trump’s foreign policy approach toward South Africa’s property expropriation legislation when he made the remarks.
He also criticized Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, arguing that it fueled “supremacist instinct” and “white victimhood” as a “dog whistle” in the 2024 election.
Rasool, who previously served as South Africa’s ambassador to the US from 2010 to 2015 under President Obama, returned to the post in January. However, his tenure has been marked by rising tensions, with reports suggesting he has been unable to secure meetings with US State Department officials and key Republican figures.
