The Scoop
South Africa’s ambassador to the US is struggling to secure crucial meetings in Washington, at a time when Pretoria needs to mend relations with Donald Trump’s White House.
Ebrahim Rasool, a veteran diplomat who also served as South Africa’s ambassador to Washington during the Obama administration, was appointed back to the post in November. But he has failed to secure routine meetings with State Department officials and key Republican figures since Trump took office in January, Washington and South African government insiders told Semafor, drawing frustration in Pretoria.
Rasool is likely to have been frozen out for his prior vocal criticism of Israel, a South African diplomat, based in Washington, told Semafor. “A man named Ebrahim, who is Muslim, with a history of pro-Palestine politics, is not likely to do well in that job right now,” said one of them. While South Africa brought a case against Israel to the International Court of Justice in December 2023, accusing it of genocide in Gaza, Rasool is nevertheless widely considered to be among the government’s most ardent pro-Palestine voices.
Neither Rasool nor a spokesman for South Africa’s government could immediately be reached for comment.
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Relations between Pretoria and Washington have deteriorated rapidly since Trump returned to the White House. Last month he cut all federal funding to South Africa, which has relied on US support for programs to combat HIV/AIDS and to finance climate initiatives, citing criticism of a new land law in South Africa and the country’s position on Israel. Four congressmen also led calls for Africa’s most industrialized economy to be excluded from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which provides duty-free access to the US.
One Capitol Hill staffer said Rasool’s past statements “don’t bode well.” A document is being shared in Republican foreign policy circles that contain tweets — some allegedly since deleted — that were purportedly by the South African ambassador and are highly critical of the now-US president. In one of the posts, dated Mar. 6, 2017, Rasool purportedly wrote that Trump “emboldens hate disciples globally,” though no such post appears on the diplomat’s public feed.
A Republican staffer on the Hill said they were not taking meetings with Rasool after the resurfacing of the alleged past anti-Trump statements.
Sam’s view
Rasool would have been the perfect South African ambassador under different circumstances. His previous stint in Washington and his deep connection to South African politics would have empowered him to excel in the job.
Enter Trump 2.0. Rasool’s name, Muslim faith, and pro-Palestine stance make him an easy target. In the short term, he will likely struggle to operate around a White House so publicly hostile to South Africa. In the long run, he could return to relevance, if US politics takes another turn. But that’s a long shot.
South Africa is considering various options, including recalling Rasool because it’s increasingly clear that he’s divisive from the perspective of the White House gatekeepers Pretoria wants to get on its side.
Meanwhile, South Africa is trialing a new approach to dealing with the US that involves strengthening relations with nations in Europe that are also being targeted by US tariffs or Trump’s wrath. This strategy might just allow Rasool to cling on to his position. It might also enable Pretoria to sidestep the need to directly approach stakeholders in Washington, as the depth of hostility Trump’s administration feels towards much of South Africa’s government becomes clearer.
Room for Disagreement
Rasool is not the only ambassador struggling to operate in Washington lately, according to Sanusha Naidu, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Global Dialogue think tank in Pretoria.
“This is not a Rasool or South Africa problem,” said Naidu, adding that it was a challenge being felt by governments around the world. “Countries like Canada are struggling to access and comprehend what this administration is about.”
It may also be difficult to arrange access to key figures because the National Security Council’s Africa directorate does not yet have a senior director in place, and the State Department is yet to appoint an assistant secretary for African Affairs, which means there are no political-level officials to take these meetings.
Notable
- South Africa appears to be rowing back on its plans to send a diplomatic team to the US and other global powers, reported the country’s Sunday Times newspaper.
— Additional reporting by Yinka Adegoke