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Brent Bozell, a conservative media critic chosen by US President Donald Trump, has arrived in South Africa to take up his post as ambassador, the US embassy confirmed Tuesday.
Bozell’s appointment comes as there are tense relations between the two countries following Trump’s return to office in January 2025.
Trump announced Bozell’s selection in March, shortly after expelling South Africa’s previous ambassador over accusations that he was critical of Washington.
Pretoria has not yet named a successor.
“I’m confirming that he’s in country,” a US embassy official told AFP.
Bozell, 70, still needs to present his credentials to President Cyril Ramaphosa before officially assuming his role, though no date has been set.
Bozell is the founder of the Media Research Center, a non-profit that says it works to “expose and counter the leftist bias of the national news media”.
Trump praised him as bringing “fearless tenacity, extraordinary experience, and vast knowledge to a nation that desperately needs it”.
Relations between Washington and Pretoria have been strained over several issues, including South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Bozell is reported to be a strong defender of Israel. In addition, the Trump administration boycotted South Africa’s G20 summit in Johannesburg last year and has not invited the country to its own hosting of the group of leading economies this year.
The United States is South Africa’s second-largest trading partner after China. The previous US ambassador, Reuben Brigety, resigned in November 2024, shortly before Trump took office.
