Donald Trump has appointed a conservative and pro-Israel media activist as the new US ambassador to South Africa. This decision comes at a time when the relationship between both nations has deteriorated significantly.
Leo Brent Bozell III established the Media Research Center back in 1987. The organization’s website describes it as a blogsite aiming to promote conservative values and expose the liberal media’s prejudices.
Tragically, Bozell III’s son, Leo Brent Bozell IV, received a 45-month prison sentence in May 2024 for his involvement in the Jan 6, 2021 Capitol riots, including assaulting police officers and breaking windows. However, he was released in January as part of Trump’s mass pardon.
Bozell III’s nomination, which requires confirmation from the Republican-controlled Senate, follows the expulsion of South Africa’s ambassador to Washington, Ebrahim Rasool, earlier this month. This incident occurred amid allegations by the US that South Africa is unfairly discriminating against its white minority.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio referred to Rasool as a “race-baiting politician who detests America” after Rasool claimed that Trump’s MAGA movement partly stemmed from a “supremacist instinct.”
In February, Trump signed an executive order cutting aid to South Africa due to claims of factual prejudice towards white Afrikaners, who ruled the nation during apartheid. This order also proposed offering them refuge.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa plans to appoint a top-quality replacement for Rasool and stated that the US funding cuts are a call for South Africa to become more self-reliant.
The US-South Africa relationship further deteriorated under former President Joe Biden after South Africa refused to take sides when Russia invaded Ukraine. Moreover, South Africa has accused the US’ ally, Israel, of genocide in Gaza. The UN court ordered Israel to take measures to prevent potential acts of genocide, with Israel required to respond to South Africa’s claim by July.
However, Trump’s approach to South African issues and his distribution of misinformation have strained the relationship even more.
According to Ziyanda Stuurman, a political risk analyst, Ramaphosa and Trump have fundamentally different world views.
Trump has criticized South Africa for its accusations against Israel, as well as a law allowing unrestricted land expropriation. Conservative white Afrikaner groups linked to Trump have promoted the conspiracy theory of a “white genocide” in South Africa, where wealth and land ownership are predominantly held by whites, who comprise only 7% of the population.
Land negotiations to end apartheid, led by Ramaphosa, offered hope for improved relations, but some believe that collaborating with Elon Musk could help bridge the gap. Musk, a South African-born billionaire, has echoed Trump’s sentiments and opposed a requirement for telecommunications investors to cede 30% of equity in their South African subsidiary to black owners.
Gifting the equity condition could be a misunderstanding of sovereignty, according to Ronak Gopaldas.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/26/trump-names-pro-israel-media-activist-as-us-ambassador-to-south-africa
