South Africa's ambassador to the U.S. Ebrahim Rasool.

The State Department says South Africa’s ambassador to the United States, who was declared “persona non grata” last week, has until Friday to leave the country.

After Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool was no longer welcome in the U.S. and posted his decision Friday on social media, South African embassy staff were summoned to the State Department and given a formal diplomatic note explaining the decision, department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.

She said Rasool’s diplomatic privileges and immunities expired Monday and that he would be required to leave the United States by Friday.

South African Foreign Ministry spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said in a television interview on Monday that Rasool was still in the U.S. but would be leaving as soon as possible.

Rubio announced his decision in a post on X as he was flying back to the United States from a Group of 7 foreign ministers meeting in Canada. In it, he accused Rasool of being a “race-baiting politician” who hates President Donald Trump.

His post linked to a story by the conservative Breitbart news site about a talk Rasool gave earlier Friday in Johannesburg as part of a South African think tank’s webinar. Rasool, speaking by videoconference, talked about actions taken by the Trump administration in the context of a United States where white people soon would no longer be in the majority.

It is highly unusual for the U.S. to expel a foreign ambassador, although lower-ranking diplomats are more frequently targeted with persona non grata status.

Rubio's decision was the latest Trump administration move targeting South Africa. Trump signed an executive order last month halting funding to the country. It criticized the Black-led South African government on multiple fronts, saying it is pursuing anti-white policies at home and supporting “bad actors” in the world like the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Iran.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters on Monday that Rasool would give him a report when he returned home.

Ramaphosa said his government has “noted the displeasure that has been expressed by the United States,” and particularly about Rasool's remarks, but stressed that he believed South Africa was in the process of rebuilding its relationship with the U.S.

“This is a hiccup, a hiccup we are working on straightening out," he said.

“We will engage with the United States of America in a formal way," Ramaphosa said. "We will do so with deep respect for them and for President Trump as well. Our relationship with the United States is going to be put on an even keel, so I would like the people of South Africa not to have sleepless nights.”

Bruce said the United States expects a certain level of respect.

“We’ve had a decent level of diplomacy with South Africa. There are some challenges, but you want people in each embassy who can actually facilitate a relationship,” she told reporters on Monday. “And these remarks were unacceptable to the United States, not just to the president, but to every American.”

The Foreign Ministry spokesman said South Africa intended to raise questions with the U.S. over Rubio seemingly announcing on social media that Rasool was no longer welcome in the U.S. before informing him of the decision.

Phiri said South Africa believed such matters should first be discussed through diplomatic channels. “But this is the reality that we also have to contend with with this administration. That it does seem as though Twitter (X) is the preferred mode of communication,” the spokesman said in an interview on the South Africa Broadcasting Corporation.

Bruce said the meeting with South African embassy staff was on Friday. Rubio's post went out at 4:42 p.m. on Friday.

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US says South African ambassador's remarks were 'unacceptable'

Remarks by South Africa's ambassador to the United States about President Donald Trump were "unacceptable," a State Department spokesperson told reporters on Monday after Washington last week made the decision to expel the envoy.

Ties between the two countries have slumped since Trump cut U.S. financial aid to South Africa, citing disapproval of its land policy and its genocide case against Washington's ally Israel at the International Court of Justice.

The expulsion of ambassador Ebrahim Rasool following an article that quoted him as saying President Donald Trump was leading a white supremacist movement, was the last straw.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday in a post on X that he was expelling Rasool, calling him a "race-baiting politician" who hates Trump, and reposting the article from right-wing website Breitbart.

"These remarks were unacceptable to the United States, not just to the president, but to every American," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, speaking at a daily briefing, told reporters.

"At the very least, what we should expect is a standard of some respect - basic, low-level respect - if you're in a position that is going to help facilitate any kind of diplomatic relationship with another country."

She added that Rasool's privileges as ambassador expired on Monday and he must leave the country by Friday.

South Africa's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Breitbart article or Bruce's comments.

REVIEW OF TIES

South Africa previously called the expulsion regrettable in statements from its presidency and international relations department, but said it remained committed to building mutually beneficial relations.

Asked by reporters whether other ambassadors to the United States could criticize Trump without fear of being expelled, Bruce said: "You want people in each embassy who can actually facilitate a relationship."

Rasool presented his credentials to then-President Joe Biden on January 13, a week before Trump took office, according to the embassy's website. It was his second stint in Washington.

Bruce also said the Trump administration was conducting a serious review of Washington's South Africa policy, citing South Africa's land policy, its growing ties with countries like Russia and Iran and "aggressive positions" toward the U.S. and allies, including accusing Israel of genocide.

Trump has said, without citing evidence, that South Africa is confiscating land and that "certain classes of people" were being treated very badly.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law a bill in January aimed at making it easier for the state to expropriate land in the public interest, in some cases without compensating the owner.

Ramaphosa has defended the policy as evening out racial disparities in ownership in the Black-majority nation and said the government had not confiscated any land.

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