News24 The Lead

Meet SA’s new envoy to America who called Trump a racist

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In this edition, we scrutinise whether sending former deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas as South Africa's special envoy to America is the right choice. This comes as a video from 2020, wherein he calls US President Trump a "racist", "homophobe", and "narcissistic right-winger", spreads across social media. Andisiwe Makinana, News24 political editor, and Graeme Raubenheimer, host of The Lead, discuss whether Jonas will even get to Washington, seeing as his predecessor, Ebrahim Rasool, was branded persona non grata and booted for similar comments. We also look at an Olympic swimming pool draining taxpayers' money and a trio who cycled all the way from Limpopo to Cape Town. Mail your comments and voice notes to thelead@24.com. Editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube.
Chapters
  • 00:01 Graeme's intro
  • 02:10 Interview with Andisiwe Makinana
  • 18:17 Trending topic: EC swimming pool saga
  • 19:22 And finally: Limpopo cycling tour to CPT
  • 20:18 Graeme's outro
15 Apr 2025 English South Africa News · Society & Culture

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