South Africa: Ebrahim Rasool splashes hurt called Trump a white supremacist again as he doubles down on white genocide comments
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.”