WATCH: ‘Rasool provoked Trump with global white supremacist remarks’ – Mbeki

Political analyst Moeletsi Mbeki says he believes that former South African ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool, was “provoking” the Americans with his remarks about Donald Trump (and, later, Elon Musk) leading a “global white supremacist movement”.

Rasool was expelled from the US by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio after his participation in a seminar by the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection about Trump’s policy stance on South Africa.

Rubio 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”.

Rasool is expected to arrive back in SA next week.

Rasool’s remarks

Speaking to author and broadcaster Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh in a wide-ranging interview about the government of national unity (GNU), President Cyril Ramaphosa, the MK party and other issues, Mbeki said Rasool should not have made the remark about Trump in public.

“He is there to represent the president of South Africa and he is there to make an analysis of what’s going on in the US and especially how what is going on is affecting South African interests. He is supposed to report to the president of South Africa, not to the public, not to you or me,” Mbeki said.

“Where our ambassador went wrong is that, instead of reporting through a closed communication channel about what he thought of the [Trump] administration, he goes to the public media and expresses his criticism of his host, host government and host president. So, in a way, I think he was provoking the Americans and he got a response which he did not think would happen so quickly.

“I hope that if we ever have an ambassador from outside coming to South Africa, who will say things of our president that ambassador Rasool said about Trump, I hope we would deport them also,” Mbeki said.

Watch a snippet of the interview with Moeletsi Mbeki

Political analyst Moeletsi Mbeki says he believes former South African ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool was “provoking” the Americans with his Donald Trump (and, later, Elon Musk) leading a “global white supremacist movement” remarks. Video: @SizweMpofuWalsh @TheCitizen_News pic.twitter.com/0y7EqD4mA3

— 𝙵𝚊𝚒𝚣𝚎𝚕 𝙿𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕 ⚡️ (@FaizelPatel143) March 22, 2025

ALSO READ: WATCH: EFF to fight for return of land whether Trump likes it or not – Malema

Trump ‘looking for excuse’

Mbeki concurred that the Trump administration was just looking for any excuse for making aggressive statements about South Africa even before Rasool was declared persona non-grata.

“It’s true that we’ve had AfriForum going to the US to denounce the South African government for one reason or another. Unfortunately, one, two, or three South African right-wingers like Elon Musk, who are close to the Republican party, are receptive to right-wing messages, but that’s the reality we know in South Africa.

“As an ambassador, he [Rasool] was supposed to understand that this government (Trump]  those are the people who influence it and so you manage the situation accordingly,” Mbeki added.

AfriForum ‘irritating mosquito

Ramaphosa’s national security adviser, Dr Sydney Mufamadi, last week said the Afrikaner movement and trade union Solidarity went to the US to “gossip about their own country”.  

“AfriForum is an irritating mosquito. But we shouldn’t forget the South Africans; the great majority of us, especially those in the liberation movement, went around the world denouncing the apartheid regime to other governments and asking other governments to take action against the apartheid regime,” Mbeki said.

“So, AfriForum is following in our footsteps. The apartheid government of South Africa was furious with us going around the world saying don’t buy South African oranges and so on. So, now we think AfriForum is bad. The apartheid regime said we were telling lies.”

AfriForum and trade union Solidarity met officials from Trump’s administration to request they put pressure on the South African government and to ask for humanitarian assistance for Afrikaner development.

Their visit has raised eyebrows, with the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks, confirming that it is investigating four case dockets of high treason linked to claims of a white genocide against farmers in the country.

"AfriForum is an irritating mosquito. But we shouldn’t forget, we the South African, the great majority of us, especially those in the liberation movement" – Moeletsi Mbeki Video: @SizweMpofuWalsh @TheCitizen_News pic.twitter.com/OGcLnZMpvO

— 𝙵𝚊𝚒𝚣𝚎𝚕 𝙿𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕 ⚡️ (@FaizelPatel143) March 22, 2025

ALSO READ: ‘Rasool had one job… he was clearly a red flag to a bull for Trump’ – expert

Ramaphosa cautions parties

Ramaphosa has called on political parties and other organisations to be sensitive to the tense relationship between South Africa and the US when welcoming Rasool back into the country.

Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya warned politicians and other groups not to worsen relations between Pretoria and Washington.

“What we are urging is some restraint, recognising the prevailing conditions with respect to our diplomatic relationship with the US.

“We do not want to see it further inflaming the situation and creating more difficulties in what is already a challenging situation,” Magwenya said.

Magwenya said Ramaphosa would be engaging with his party, the ANC, over exercising restraint.

ALSO READ: Trump offers white South African farmers expedited US citizenship