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President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday his decision to appoint Media Research Center founder L. Brent Bozell III as U.S. ambassador to South Africa, praising Bozell’s history of fighting “Fake News hypocrites.”
“I am pleased to announce that Brent Bozell will be our next United States Ambassador to South Africa,” wrote Trump in a Truth Social post on Wednesday evening. “Brent is the Founder of the Media Research Center, which has exposed Fake News hypocrites for many years. Brent brings fearless tenacity, extraordinary experience, and vast knowledge to a Nation that desperately needs it. Congratulations Brent!”
Bozell – the nephew of National Review founder William F. Buckley Jr. – was previously appointed by Trump to serve as CEO of the United States Agency for Global Media in January.
“As Founder and President of the Media Research Center for 38 years, few understand the Global Media landscape in print, television, and online better than Brent,” said Trump at the time. “He and his family have fought for the American principles of Liberty, Freedom, Equality, and Justice for generations, and he will ensure that message is heard by Freedom-loving people around the World.”
Bozell’s son Leo Brent Bozell IV was among those pardoned by President Trump earlier this year for taking part in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots.
Prior to Trump’s pardon, Bozell Jr. had been sentenced to 45 months in prison after being found guilty of assaulting law enforcement and destroying government property, among other charges.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio banned South Africa’s ambassador Ebrahim Rasool from entering the United States this month after Rasool compared Trump’s Make America Great Again movement to white supremacy.
“South Africa’s Ambassador to the United States is no longer welcome in our great country,” announced Rubio on social media. “Ebrahim Rasool is a race-baiting politician who hates America and hates @POTUS. We have nothing to discuss with him and so he is considered PERSONA NON GRATA.”
