Washington’s nominee for ambassador to South Africa used his confirmation hearing to offer support for disputed claims that the country’s white minority was under attack.
Leo Brent Bozell also said he would push Africa’s biggest economy to halt its “geostrategic drift” toward US rivals including China, Iran, and Russia, while demanding Pretoria drop its genocide case against Israel.
Bozell’s likely confirmation will probably pile further pressure on the two countries’ ties, which have plummeted in recent months over US allegations that South Africa discriminates against its white population. Indeed, the US is reportedly planning to allow just 7,500 refugees into the country this year, with around 7,000 of those being white South Africans.