Outspoken China Hawk Poised to Become Donald Trump’s New Envoy to South Africa

South African-born U.S. conservative commentator Joel Pollak, who is widely believed to be Donald Trump's pick to become ambassador to Pretoria. Phillip Faraone / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

With U.S.-South Africa ties on the verge of total collapse following President Donald Trump’s suspension of aid and his offer to resettle white South Africans as refugees, attention is now shifting to who Washington will send to Pretoria as its next ambassador.

The buzz in the Beltway is that conservative political commentator Joel Pollak will soon be named to the post. Pollak is currently a senior editor-at-large at the conservative website Breitbart News and is among a group of prominent white South African emigres to the United States who are in President Trump’s inner circle, notably Elon Musk and influential venture capitalist David Sacks, among others.

  • Get a daily email packed with the latest news and analysis from Africa, Asia, and across the Global South.
  • Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China’s relations across the Global South.
  • Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in the Global South.

China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening.

Subscribe today for unlimited access.

OR

Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More
by Eric Olander

Most Read

1
Developing Countries’ Debt Servicing Costs to China Are Significant, but Nowhere Near as Much as Other Creditors
2 Chinese Military Fans Discuss Why Indonesia Bought Rafale Instead of J-10C
3
Chinese Cargo Planes Secretly Ferrying Supplies to Iran, Claim Online Sleuths
4 From J-10C to Kaan? Indonesia’s Fighter Jet Deal With Turkey Shocks Chinese Military Fans
5
Indonesia Goes Nuclear, Taps China and Russia for Modular Reactors
6
Thailand in Last-Minute U.S. Talks as 36% Tariff Looms

You Might Like

U.S. vs. China in the Battle of Perceptions

Providing global “public goods” in health, security and other areas has long been a responsibility taken on by the United States. Now, though, as the United States struggles to contain the COVID-19 outbreak ...

U.S.-Africa Summit Showcases New Biden Strategy, Amid Republican Complaints

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris opened the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit yesterday with an optimistic message focusing on Africa’s youth. President Joe Biden is scheduled to join the summit today, and his administration has leaned into ...

The Real Challenge Facing Antony Blinken in Africa

It has become customary, as the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken tours Africa, to rebuff journalists’ endless questions about China. Senior officials have made it clear that, unlike the Trump era, the Biden ...

Chinese Press Dismisses Blinken’s Africa Tour

The reaction in China to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to Ivory Coast, Cape Verde, Nigeria, and Angola has been relatively muted. The trip is likely seen as sensitive, which means that ...

What is The China-Global South Project?

Independent

The China-Global South Project is passionately independent, non-partisan and does not advocate for any country, company or culture.

News

A carefully curated selection of the day’s most important China-Global South stories. Updated 24 hours a day by human editors. No bots, no algorithms.

Analysis

Diverse, often unconventional insights from scholars, analysts, journalists and a variety of stakeholders in the China-Global South discourse.

Networking

A unique professional network of China-Africa scholars, analysts, journalists and other practioners from around the world.

More about CGSP