President Donald Trump has ramped up his efforts to target South Africa as Elon Musk cheers him on. But Republicans say they’re not worried U.S. policy is being influenced by Musk’s personal grievances.
“It’s totally within the president’s prerogative to address human rights issues,” Rep. Tim Burchett told NOTUS. “I don’t have a problem with it.”
The U.S. has sparred with South Africa over its alignment with Russia and China and its criticism over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. But Trump and his allies have focused more on the nation’s handling of race and its treatment of Afrikaners, a South African ethnic group descended from Dutch, French and German settlers.