Former South African ambassador to the US Ebrahim Rasool says that he does not regret remarks he made about President Donald Trump’s administration, and has accused Trump of “mobilsing white supremacist instinct” for repeatedly claiming there is an alleged genocide in South Africa.

Rasool, who was expelled from the United States earlier this year after expressing his views on Trump’s presidency during a webinar, said he still stands by his comments.

Rasool previously served as South Africa’s ambassador to Washington during the Barack Obama administration between 2010 and 2015. He was reappointed in January 2025, serving under both the Joe Biden and Trump administrations.

“I stand by it, because what else explains why he would accuse South Africa of a white genocide? Everyone knows,” he said during an interview with Piers Morgan on Piers Morgan Uncensored.

The webinar that drew criticism was hosted by the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (Mistra) under the theme, Implications of Changes in US Administrations for South Africa and Africa. 

Rasool urged people to consult South Africa’s national interests framework document, saying it would guide the country through the “turbulent moments” created by a tension between national values and strategic interests.

He also voiced concern about the level of respect South Africa receives within the G20, saying that Pretoria must hand over the presidency to the United States this year.

Rasool argued that elements within the Trump administration are driven by “a supremacist instinct.”

“Those who are in power by mobilising a supremacism against the incumbency at home in the domestic politics of the US – the Make America Great Again movement – are responding not only to a supremacist instinct, but to clear demographic shifts in the US. The voting electorate is projected to become 48% white, with the possibility of a majority of minorities looming on the horizon.”

He also discussed South Africa’s domestic challenges, including economic pressures and the “Afrikaner issue” – and noted that key posts in the US administration had yet to be filled. 

Rasool added that there were continuities between the Trump and former US president Joe Biden administrations, particularly in their resistance to an emerging multipolar world order.

The South African government has long rejected claims of a so-called “white genocide” targeting white farmers. 

But Trump has continued to repeat the allegation despite Pretoria’s denials.

“Donald Trump doubles down on it. And therefore, what other motive could he have than mobilising white anxiety in South Africa? What other motive explains that you have a net deportation of Black and brown people from the US and a net importation of white Afrikaners into the US, ostensibly as refugees? There’s no rational explanation except that there’s an instinct at play – and I call it a supremacist instinct. I think I’m being proven right,” Rasool said.

When asked whether he was making a serious charge by calling an American president a white supremacist, Rasool did not hesitate.

“It’s a serious charge, but the American president makes serious charges every day of his life. You can’t have such thin skin when you dish it out.”

He added that he took it as a “badge of honour” that “one ambassador out of almost 200 said something, and it was heard in the Oval Office. It hurt the Oval Office. It pierced their very thin skin.”

Pressed again on whether he believed Trump is a white supremacist, Rasool said he does believe so.

“I think he has mobilised that instinct in the US. I think it’s the source of his goal.”

He said there was no ambiguity.

“When he says there’s a white genocide, and he’s proven wrong, and he embarrasses or tries to embarrass our president with false evidence – shows pictures of the…,” Rasool said, trailing off.

In May, President Cyril Ramaphosa led a South African delegation, including businessman Johann Rupert, to meet US officials in an effort to ease escalating diplomatic and economic tensions. 

Rupert, the founder of Richemont and chair of Remgro, appealed to Trump for assistance in addressing South Africa’s rising crime rate, stressing that violence affects all citizens, not only white farmers.

“We have too many deaths, but it’s across the board,” Rupert told Trump during the high-level White House meeting. 

“We need technological help. We need Starlink at every little police station.”

Meanwhile, Rasool remained concerned about Trump continuing to repeat the genocide allegation.

“Then what explains that months later he doubles down on it and says, on that basis, I’m not going to the G20, I’m not accepting the confrontation, and so forth.”

Asked whether Trump could be wrong without being a white supremacist himself, Rasool replied, “You never double down on the wrong, even when your own advisers tell you, and the world tells you.”

Trump, who has clashed repeatedly with the South African government since returning to the White House, is known for refusing to back down. 

“And therefore, he has no right to double down on falsehoods,” Rasool said. 

When Morgan argued that this does not necessarily make Trump a white supremacist, Rasool disagreed.

“He… I think it does,” he added.

The G20 Leaders’ Summit is scheduled to take place this weekend at the Nasrec Expo Centre. 

Although the US administration had repeatedly said it would not attend, Ramaphosa revealed on Thursday that Washington had “a change of mind” and would participate “in one shape, form or other”.

However, the White House rejected this, insisting its position had not changed. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt sharply criticised Ramaphosa, accusing him of “running his mouth”.

“I saw the South African president running his mouth a little bit against the United States and the president of the United States earlier today, and that language is not appreciated by the president or his team,” she said at a briefing.

US officials said the government would send only a diplomatic representative to the handover ceremony when South Africa passes the G20 presidency to the United States – and would not participate in summit discussions or negotiations.

IOL Politics

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