Leo Brent Bozell III: Who is Trump's pick for US ambassador to SA?

Leo Brent Bozell III: Who is Trump’s pick for US ambassador to SA?

Leo Brent Bozell III is tipped to be the next US ambassador to SA. Who is he and how might he guide US-SA ties through the current crisis?

Leo Brent Bozell III has been nominated as the new US ambassador to South Africa. Image via Wikimedia Commons

Leo Brent Bozell III was nominated on 25 March as the new United States ambassador to South Africa. But just who is the man Donald Trump wants to lead US-SA relations through their frosty current state?

A surprise choice

The previous ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, resigned in January 2025. To fill his shoes, Leo Brent Bozell III must attend US Senate hearings before he can be confirmed as the new ambassador.

Bozell’s nomination surprised some analysts. Joel Pollak, an editor at Conservative journal Breitbart News, was thought to be a likely candidate. Pollak, who was born in South Africa, is a zealous critic of the country and a fervent Trump supporter. And he used to a speechwriter for former Democratic Alliance leader, Tony Leon.

So who is Leo Brent Bozell III – a man who in 2011 suggested then-president of the United States, Barack Obama, looked like a “skinny ghetto crackhead”?

Leo Brent Bozell III: a Conservative media critic

Leo Brent Bozell III is the founder of the Media Research Center (MRC), which describes itself as “the largest media watchdog organisation in America”. Bozell started the organisation in 1987 and remains its president. The MRC runs several conservative media products, including the CNSNews.com newswire.

Bozell comes from a traditionally Conservative family. Both his father and uncle were notable Conservative writers. Bozell’s son, Leo Brent Bozell IV, was part of the group that stormed the US Capitol in 2021 after Trump lost the 2020 election. According to The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Leo Brent Bozell IV was sentenced to four years in prison in 2024. Trump pardoned him earlier this year.

The 69-year-old Leo Brent Bozell III has a BA in history and a PhD in an unknown subject. Bozell founded ForAmerica, an organisation that aims to “restor[e] America to its founding principles” in 2010. He also launched a group “dedicated to restoring decency to Hollywood” in 1998.

Leo Brent Bozell III’s controversial politics

According to AP News, Leo Brent Bozell III is well-known as a fervent pro-Israel supporter. The MRC website currently displays a banner reading: “The Media Research Center Stands With Israel”.

This may cause friction in the ambassadorial role. In his February executive order, Trump accused South Africa of fuelling terrorism in the Middle East. South Africa launched a case at the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza, in 2023.

Politico reports that Bozell III was initially critical of Trump in the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries. At the time, Bozell III is reported to have said on Fox News: “God help this country if this man were president.” He seems to have changed his tone after his remarks lost the MRC funding.

US-SA relations remain at a low point

It is no secret that relations between the United States and South Africa are hanging by a thread. Since returning to the White House, Trump has taken aim at Pretoria numerous times.

In February, Trump signed an executive order freezing aid to South Africa. His false allegation of discrimination against Afrikaners has stoked anger and racial tension across the country.

The shock move to expel South Africa’s ambassador to Washington, Ebrahim Rasool, also alarmed the country. An unrepentant Rasool arrived in Cape Town on Sunday after he accused the Trump administration of white supremacy. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya says the president is in no rush to name Rasool’s replacement.

Earlier this week on 23 March, Trump again criticised South Africa. Commenting on his aide Elon Musk’s post about Julius Malema’s singing of Kill the Boer, Trump wrote: “As I have long been saying, South Africa is a total – and very dangerous – mess.” Like a number of Trump’s close associates, Elon Musk was born in Apartheid-era South Africa.