After Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool was no longer welcome in the U.S. and posted his decision Friday on social media, South African embassy staff were summoned to the State Department and given a formal diplomatic note explaining the decision,

Remarks by South Africa's ambassador to the United States about President Donald Trump were "unacceptable," a State Department spokesperson told reporters on Monday after Washington last week made the decision to expel the envoy.

Julius Malema's opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party issued a scathing statement against the US, calling on South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa "to not allow the country to be bullied by the orange clown occupying the White House".