WeeklySA_AdminFOREIGN POLICY: Addressing the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday, Bozell III said he would also advance Trump’s invitation to Afrikaners wishing to “flee unjust racial discrimination” and migrate to the United States…
By Lehlohonolo Lehana
The United States’ ambassador-designate to South Africa, Brent Bozell III, says he would use his ambassadorship to advocate for American business interests and promote “fair trade practices” in South Africa.
He was grilled on Thursday by Democratic Party senators about his views on race and other issues during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Bozell told lawmakers that he will push South Africa to end proceedings against Israel before the International Court of Justice.
In December 2023, South Africa brought a case to the United Nations’ highest court in The Hague, alleging Israel’s Gaza offensive breached the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Israel denies the accusation.
In rulings in January, March and May 2024, the ICJ told Israel to do everything possible to “prevent” acts of genocide during its military operations in Gaza, including by providing urgently needed humanitarian aid to prevent famine.
“I will advance the president’s invitation to Afrikaners who wish to flee unjust racial discrimination. I will explore how we can support the South African government in making sure all South Africans can thrive free from the threat of violence,” Bozell said.
“Secondly, I will support the president’s call for the South African government to rescind its support for the expropriation of private property without compensation.”
“Thirdly, I will advocate for business interests by promoting fair trade practices and reduce barriers that will level the playing field for US companies and empower South Africa as an engine of economic growth, creating a more prosperous future for both our countries.” Bozell’s nomination must still be ratified by the US Senate.
Bozell, 69, was previously nominated to lead the US Agency for Global Media – a now-closed umbrella organisation that oversaw Voice of America and Radio Free Europe – but the bid was later withdrawn.
Earlier in his career, he founded the Media Research Center – which has the stated mission of identifying liberal bias – and the Parents Television Council, among other conservative groups.
His son, Leo, was among those who stormed the US Capitol on 6 January 2021. He was convicted last year and sentenced to nearly four years in prison.
Bozell said if confirmed as ambassador, he would approach his ambassadorship “with respect for the South African people”. South Africa was the US’s largest trading partner in Africa, and more than 500 businesses in South Africa employed more than 250,000 South Africans.
But, he added, this was a challenging moment for US-South Africa relations.
Bozell said he would actively pursue a strategic partnership with South Africa to develop and process critical minerals.
He said China had been “using unfair business practices to make deals with the South Africans to take their raw minerals, buy them, send them to China, refine them, and increase their value dramatically and increase the control that China has on these critical reserves that the United States needs.”
He pledged to “level the playing field for US companies” — a comment analysts view as a veiled reference to Chinese firms’ leading presence in South African infrastructure, energy, and technology projects.
“I will communicate our objections to South Africa’s geostrategic drift … and support the President’s call for South Africa to reconsider policies that risk aligning with our adversaries,” Bozell told lawmakers.
South Africa has long defended its foreign policy stance as non-aligned and rooted in pragmatism — maintaining that its engagement with China and other BRICS members is driven by economic cooperation, not political allegiance. Pretoria has also argued that its diversified partnerships protect national sovereignty and economic resilience.
Bozell III, a conservative activist and media critic, was nominated by Trump in March 2025 to be the next US ambassador to South Africa. His nomination is awaiting confirmation by the US Senate and comes amid strained relations between the two countries.
Bozell founded the Media Research Centre, a Virginia-based watchdog organisation dedicated to documenting and combating perceived liberal bias in the news media.
He comes from a family with deep roots in the American conservative movement. His father, L. Brent Bozell Jr., was a conservative writer, and his uncle was William F. Buckley Jr., the founder of the magazine National Review. – Fullview
