President Trump plans to nominate L. Brent Bozell III, a critic of the conservative media and a fierce defender of Israel, to be the American ambassador to South Africa, According to the Congress website.
Mr. Bozell had already been nominated To direct the World Media Company in the US, however this appointment was withdrawn on Monday, The Congress website had stated.
The identify of Mr. Bozell was one of many many submitted to the Senate on Tuesday for varied ambassador positions, in keeping with two authorities representatives, who requested for anonymity as a result of they weren’t licensed to talk publicly. The State Division refused to remark.
Mr. Bozell, who should be confirmed by the Senate, would enter the function at a time when the connection between South Africa and the US is at its worst in latest reminiscence. The Trump administration not too long ago expelled the South African Ambassador to the US after criticizing Trump in a webinar.
The Trump administration criticized the South African authorities on its shut relationship with Iran and its extreme place in opposition to Israel, particularly by bringing A case of genocide at the International Court of Justice In the course of the struggle in Gaza.
It was not instantly clear if Mr. Bozell had hyperlinks with South Africa. He’s the founder and president of the Media Analysis Heart, a surveillance group that targets community tv hosts and the patron media with accusations of a liberal bias. Previously vital of Mr. Trump, Mr. Bozell is now firmly in his nook. His son, Leo Brent Bozell IV, was one of the nearly 1,600 convicted and sentenced On January 6, 2021, attacked the Capitol, however was pardoned by Mr. Trump.
Mr. Bozell was a vocal supporter of the Israeli authorities. After Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023, Mr. Bozell printed a fundraising name for Israel on the web site of his heart, saying that he typically didn’t name for exterior causes however made an exception as a result of “it’s an emergency”.
“Israel is combating for its very existence,” he wrote.
The Trump administration additionally accused the federal government of South Africa to discriminate the inhabitants of white minorities. Trump printed an government decree final month, which suspended all American assist in South Africa and supplied a refugee standing to Afrikaners, a white ethnic minority that after directed the Apartheid authorities.
Elon Musk, born in South Africa, incessantly printed messages on X denigrating the South African authorities, wrongly affirming that there have been mass killings of white farmers. He additionally stated that his satellite tv for pc enterprise, Starlink, was not allowed to function in South Africa as a result of he’s not black. (The nation requires that international corporations grant possession to members of traditionally deprived teams.)
South African officers have been stunned by the assaults by Mr. Trump, Mr. Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, saying that they’re primarily based on disinformation.
