Alpha Ramushwana17 April 2025 | 6:56

Presidency hopes Trump holds no grudges over Jonas' past remarks about him

Speaking on the sidelines of Cabinet’s meeting with the Eastern Cape government on Wednesday, Vincent Magwenya said he believed that Donald Trump was unlikely to take offence.

Presidency hopes Trump holds no grudges over Jonas' past remarks about him

FILE: Former deputy finance minister, Mcebisi Jonas, reacts during a demonstration march organised by a broad-based coalition called #UniteBehind, to place pressure on MPs to vote for the removal of South African President Jacob Zuma (not visible) before a no-confidence vote by Parliament, on 7 August 2017 in Cape Town. Picture: RODGER BOSCH/AFP

GQEBERHA - Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya is hoping United States (US) President Donald Trump will not hold grudges against South Africa’s new special envoy, Mcebisi Jonas.

Magwenya was addressing concerns around Jonas’s appointment, in light of critical remarks Jonas had made about Trump in the past.

Speaking at the Ahmed Kathrada Annual Memorial Lecture in 2020, Jonas referred to Trump as both a racist and a homophobe.

Speaking on the sidelines of Cabinet’s meeting with the Eastern Cape government on Wednesday, Magwenya said he believed that Trump was unlikely to take offence.

The United States expelled South Africa’s former ambassador, Ebrahim Rasool in March, after he accused Trump of leading a white supremacist movement.

Asked if the president considered the possibility of Jonas being rejected by the Trump administration due to his remarks on its leader, Magwenya said he believed that Trump won’t dwell too much on Jonas' remarks.

"We don’t believe that President Trump is the man who holds grudges. If that was the case, a number of his Cabinet members would not be serving in his Cabinet."

Magwenya said Trump, of all people, should understand the importance of not bearing grudges.

"We believe that President Trump and members of his administration will have an appreciation that in politics, things get said, but that doesn’t mean that people are beholden to those positions. Equally, unkind remarks have been said about the African continent by President Trump, and there is no African leader who holds those comments against him."

Magwenya maintained that the president had taken all of these factors into account before appointing Jonas.