Leo Brent Bozell III nominated as the next US ambassador to South Africa
Leo Brent Bozell III nominated as the next US ambassador to South Africa! US President Donald Trump has nominated Brent Bozell III to replace Reuben Brigety as ambassador to Pretoria, South Africa.
“Leo Brent Bozell III, of Virginia, to be ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of South Africa,” read a note, dated 24 March, received from Senate and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Brigety resigned on January 10.
Bozell’s nomination comes after Dana Brown, the United States chargé d’affaires in South Africa, resigned from the US State Department with immediate effect.
Leo Brent Bozell III
She was replaced by David Greene.
Speculation has been rife for weeks on who would replace Brigety in Pretoria amid tensions between the US and SA.
Joel Pollak, an influential individual in the MAGA movement, had raised his hand to fill Brigety’s shoes.
Last week, Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told the media that the government had not been informed about Brigety’s replacement.
Magwenya said South Africa had no role to play in the decision and, therefore, would respect and wait for the Trump administration to make its decision.
In January, Bozell took to social media X (formerly known as Twitter) to post that his son was one of the pro-Trump supporters who were granted pardons for attacking Capitol Hill on 6 January 2021.
That same month Reuters reported that hundreds of Trump supporters who had been serving prison sentences for participating in the attack on the US Capitol were freed after Trump pardoned more than 1 500 people, including some who assaulted police officers.
At the time, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said 211 people had been released from federal facilities following Trump’s order.
After his son’s release, Bozell posted: “My son Zeeker (far left) and 6 of his J6 (January 6) buddies released from captivity last night. He is home with his wife and three girls this morning. Thank you, Mr President.”
In another X post, Bozell said the new Trump administration had arrived with a real sense of purpose.
Taking aim at former President Joe Biden‘s administration, he said: “For the past four years, the Biden administration has subjected America to a level of personal corruption, professional ineptitude and abuse of power unheard of in our nation’s history.
“President Trump committed to address all of this and immediately has put an end to the persecution of J6 defendants through his presidential pardon. I salute the president for this commitment to justice. I also thank him personally for liberating my son.”
Bozell said people in the US had witnessed the Biden administration transform the FBI from perhaps the most respected to the most feared agency in the federal government.
He called for an investigation into the Department of Justice.
According to a profile on Bozell on America’s Media Watchdog, he is a lecturer, syndicated columnist, television commentator, debater, marketer, businessman, author, publisher, and activist.
According to the website, Bozell received his BA in History from the University of Dallas, where he was named the 1998 alumnus of the year.
In 2015, he received an honorary PhD from the same university. He is married, with five children and 17 grandchildren.
In January, Trump announced on Truth Social that Bozell would serve as the CEO of the United States Agency for Global Media.
He said: “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. 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. Brent will bring some much-needed change to the US Agency for Global News.”
Bozell responded to Trump on X, saying: “I am honoured to be chosen by President Trump to serve as the next CEO of the US Agency for Global Media. There is lots of work to be done.
“I look forward to meeting with senators ahead of my confirmation hearing to explore how best to ensure the priorities of the president are met. Thank you, Mr President!”
Department of International Relations and Cooperation ministry spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said Pretoria does not comment on the internal processes of other states.
