The Government of Donald Trump granted a 72-hour deadline to the South African ambassador in Washington, Ebrahim Rasool, to leave the country after being declared a "persona non grata" due to his critical stance toward the American president.
Chrispin Phiri, spokesperson for the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation, indicated that the Government is coordinating procedures to facilitate the diplomat's return.
"Ambassador Rasool has 72 hours to leave the United States, and therefore, we are facilitating his return. Then, from there, Pretoria will assess the next steps to take and will handle replacing him," Phiri explained to the South African media outlet News24.
Phiri expressed his disagreement with the expulsion, highlighting that "positive advances" had recently been recorded in the bilateral relations between both countries.
"However, we are determined to ensure that our relationship with the United States not only remains mutually respectful but also mutually beneficial," he added.
The decision to expel Rasool was announced on Friday by the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, who declared him a "persona non grata" and accused him of being a politician who incites racism, in addition to maintaining a hostile stance toward Trump.
The statements that triggered the controversy occurred during a foreign policy seminar in Johannesburg, organized by the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA).
In his intervention, Rasool argued that Trump's geopolitical stance toward multilateral organizations like the UN and the G20 reflected an ideology, according to him, of "white supremacy."
"What Donald Trump is launching is an attack against those in power, by mobilizing a supremacism against them, both inside and outside the country," Rasool noted.
"In this sense, the supremacist attack against those in power is seen in U.S. national politics, the MAGA movement, as a response not only to a supremacist instinct but to very clear data showing major demographic changes in the U.S., where the American electorate is projected to be 48% white," added the delusional ambassador.
He also linked businessman Elon Musk and Vice President J.D. Vance with supporting right-wing political movements in Europe, such as the Reform UK party in the United Kingdom and the Alternative for Germany (AfD), suggesting they seek to "influence the rise of ultra-conservative currents on the continent."
Anti-white racism in South Africa
In recent statements, President Donald Trump reiterated his accusations against the South African government for the confiscation of land from white citizens and offered South African farmers a "fast track" to obtain U.S. citizenship.
Through a message on his platform Truth Social, Trump expressed: "Any farmer (with family!) from South Africa seeking to flee that country for safety reasons will be invited to the United States of America with a fast track to citizenship."
One of Trump's main supporters in this stance is South African businessman Elon Musk, who has openly criticized President Cyril Ramaphosa, accusing his administration of implementing "openly racist property laws."
