Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool To Attend Donald Trump’s Inauguration in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Place

• President Cyril Ramaphosa will not be attending the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump
• The South African ambassador to the United States, Ebrahim Rasool, will attend in his place
• The president's spokesperson said no South African president attended the American president's inauguration

Tebogo Mokwena, affiliated with Briefly News, provided local and international political analysis and interviews in South Africa for Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News during his nine years of experience.

PRETORIA—President Cyril Ramaphosa will be seated at the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump on 20 January 2025 by Ambassador Ibrahim Rasool. He will be sworn in months after winning the US elections. His spokesperson said no SA president has attended the inauguration since 2017.

Why is Ramaphosa not attending Trump's inauguration?

According to IOL, Ramaphosa's spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said no South African president in the country's history has ever attended a presidential inauguration. The International Relations Department's Deputy Director-General Clayson Monyela said Ebrahim Rasool would represent South Africa at the event.

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Donald Trump's dealings with South Africa

• President Cyril Ramaphosa congratulated Trump after he defeated Kamala Harris in the 2024 US elections
• Trump threatened to impose tariffs on BRICS countries in the event BRICS might create its own currency
• The Department of International Relations and Cooperations said it is willing to engage with Trump to clarify the BRICS currency issue

South Africans react

Netizens commenting on @MDNnews's tweet shared their views.

IG:tumelotiger10 said:

"Finally! We will free ourselves from relations with the most corrupt country of them all!"

Boosting said:

"It goes both ways. No US president was invited when Ramapnhosa was re-elected."

Andile Lunigsa said:

"South Africa has all the natural resources for industrial development. It does not need the imperialist country, the United States."

JN said:

"Very few foreign leaders are attending."

Tumelo asked:

"Who cares?"

Elon Musk to head Trump's administration department

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SA slams Cyril Ramaphosa for attending Mozambique President Daniel Chapo's inauguration

In a related article, Briefly News reported that South African-born Elon Musk was appointed to head a new department under Trump's presidency. Trump says he will lead the Department of Government Efficiency.

Musk has no experience as a politician, and this will be his first stint in a political position. A political analyst spoke to Briefly News and commented that Musk has not yet invested in South Africa because of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment policy.

Source: Briefly News