Mbeki: Rasool said things about Trump which he should not have said
Former President Thabo Mbeki said that expelled South African ambassador to the United States, Ebrahim Rasool, was in the wrong.
Former US Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool at the Cape Town International Airport following his return from the US on 23 March 2025. Picture: Lindsay Dentlinger/EWN
JOHANNESBURG - Former President Thabo Mbeki said that expelled South African ambassador to the United States, Ebrahim Rasool, was in the wrong.
He was at the University of South Africa (UNISA), where the Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs hosted conversations between students and the former statesman.
Rasool was declared persona non grata in the US following public views shared during a lecture on US President Donald Trump's presidency and the rise of white supremacists in the world.
Mbeki said that being an ambassador came with certain restrictions.
"He said things about his host president which he should not have said. When I saw this and saw this persona non grata, I wasn't surprised because it means, practically, you make an assessment of your host president, which is negative, then you want to sit with that president tomorrow? They won't agree."
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