Rasool criticism of Trump a mistake - Mbeki
Former president Thabo Mbeki said Ebrahim Rasool made a mistake by lashing out at the Trump administration.
The now former SA ambassador was expelled from Washington earlier this month after he described Donald Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ movement as a supremacist reaction to growing diversity in the United States.
Rasool, who served as Washington's ambassador from 2010 to 2015 under then-president Jacob Zuma, returned to the U.S. in January following Trump’s election victory.
The former statesman said ambassadors are expected to uphold a certain diplomatic decorum.
Mbeki spoke at a discussion hosted by the University of South Africa in Pretoria on Friday.
"The ambassador that gets posted is by agreement with the host country. You can't go around expressing negative opinions about your host.
"From then onwards, there is no way you can talk to him. He ceases to be an ambassador that is respected by this host,
"Ebrahim Rasool is an old friend and comrade of mine, but I think in this instance he made a mistake. He said things about his host president,
"When I saw that he was declared persona-non-grata I wasn't surprised" said Mbeki.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is yet to appoint a new envoy to the U.S amid strained relations between the two countries.
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