Ebrahim Rasool, the South African ambassador expelled from the United States amid rising tensions with President Donald Trump’s administration, returned to Cape Town on Sunday, March 23, receiving a jubilant reception from supporters. Rasool, who was ousted over accusations of being a “race-baiting politician” and for criticizing Trump’s policies, addressed the crowd defiantly, saying, “It was not our choice to come home, but we come home with no regrets.”
His expulsion followed growing diplomatic tensions between the two countries, fueled by disputes over South Africa’s land reform policies, the country’s stance against Israel at the International Court of Justice, and other foreign policy disagreements. Tensions deepened further when Trump cut financial aid to Pretoria.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained that Rasool’s ousting stemmed from his remarks calling Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement a supremacist response to the nation’s increasing diversity.
As a former anti-apartheid campaigner, Rasool defended his statements, stating that he was addressing South African intellectuals and politicians to warn them that “the old way of doing business with the US was not going to work.” He stressed the need for a shift in diplomatic discourse, acknowledging the changing political landscape in the US. “It is not the US of Obama or Clinton; it is a different US,” he said, calling for new strategies in dealing with the US.
The dispute intensified earlier this year when Trump froze aid to South Africa, accusing the country of allowing the seizure of land from white farmers. Trump’s comments in recent weeks further strained relations, including his suggestion that South African farmers could seek refuge in the United States, repeating unverified claims of land confiscations.