Jonas hopes US buries hatchet over his Trump comments
This amid concerns that Mcebisi Jonas' past utterances about Donald Trump could catch up with him even before he assumes his new role as a special envoy.
Mcebisi Jonas in studio with Stephen Grootes after President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed him as special envoy to the US. Picture: 702
JOHANNESBURG - Newly appointed special envoy to the US, Mcebisi Jonas, says he hopes Washington will bury the hatchet over controversial comments made about US President Donald Trump.
This amid concerns that Jonas' past utterances about Trump could catch up with him even before he assumes his new role as a special envoy.
Jonas previously referred to Trump as a racist and homophobe in an Ahmed Kathrada Annual Lecture in 2020.
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The last time a South African diplomat made unsavoury comments about Trump, he was abruptly expelled.
In March, South African ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool, was declared persona non grata after labelling Trump's administration as supremacist.
Damning comments made by former deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas in 2020 have now also emerged, where he labelled Trump racist, homophobic and narcassistic.
Jonas had this to say about the matter: "At the time, I was outside of government, I was speaking as an activist. I think people move on. If you Google any politician, they’ve said one nasty thing about one other politician or another. But the reality of the matter and the task at hand is to work on the relations between the two countries."
While Jonas, as special envoy, will not be required to present his credentials to Trump in line with diplomatic protocols, there are now further concerns about his reception in the US.