A conservative media critic selected by United States President Donald Trump to serve as ambassador to South Africa has arrived in the country to assume his position, according to the US embassy announcement on Tuesday.

Relations between Washington and Pretoria remain fractured due to disagreements on various international and domestic matters, including South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice and Trump’s claims regarding the persecution of white Afrikaners.

According to AFP, Brent Bozell, aged 70, must present his credentials to President Cyril Ramaphosa before he can officially commence his duties.

“I’m confirming that he’s in (the) country,” a US embassy official told AFP.

Trump nominated the right-wing Bozell for the ambassadorship in March, shortly after expelling South Africa’s ambassador over perceived criticism of Washington. Pretoria has not yet named a replacement ambassador.

Trump stated at the time that Bozell “brings fearless tenacity, extraordinary experience, and vast knowledge to a nation that desperately needs it”.

Bozell founded the Media Research Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to exposing and countering what it describes as leftist bias in the national news media.

As a staunch supporter of Israel, Bozell declared during his Senate confirmation hearing in October that he would urge Pretoria to drop its genocide case.

South Africa lodged the case at the International Court of Justice in 2023, claiming that Israel’s war in Gaza—triggered by Hamas militants’ attack—violated the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention. Israel has rejected the allegations.

Bozell further told senators: “I will communicate our objections to South Africa’s geostrategic drift from non-alignment toward our competitors, including Russia, China and Iran.”

He pledged to advance Trump’s proposal granting refugee status to the white Afrikaans minority, with several hundred reportedly accepting the offer since its extension in May last year.

The US administration has asserted that Afrikaners—descendants of early Dutch settlers—face discrimination and even “genocide” under the post-apartheid government, a charge firmly denied by Pretoria.

“It is essential to actively engage on areas of disagreement while seeking opportunities to foster mutual benefit,” Bozell said.

The United States ranks as South Africa’s second-largest trading partner by country, following China.

Amid the deteriorating relationship, Washington imposed 30-percent tariffs on South African exports to the US in August, sparking concerns over potential job losses in agriculture, automobiles, and textiles.

Pretoria indicated it was negotiating for improved terms with Washington while also securing a duty-free trade agreement with China, its top trading partner.

A significant low point came when the Trump administration boycotted the G20 summit in Johannesburg in November, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio describing South Africa’s forum presidency as having an “anti-American” agenda.

US officials confirmed that South Africa would not receive an invitation to the group’s meeting hosted by the United States this year.

South Africa remains the United States’ largest trading partner on the African continent, hosting over 500 American businesses and approximately 30,000 US citizens.

The previous US ambassador, Reuben Brigety, resigned in November 2024, shortly before Trump assumed office.