Catégorie oBox : OBOXMA

South Africa has launched an investigation into its choice to host Iranian warships off the coast of Cape Town after rumours of Donald Trump’s displeasure. South Africa chose to include Iran in a series of joint drills that also included the Chinese, Russian and United Arab Emirates navies. The choice to include Iran drew the ire of the U.S., and South Africa’s defence ministry subsequently released a statement announcing it had launched an investigation into how the decision was made without the proper consultation. In a statement posted on X, the U.S. Embassy in South Africa denounced the decision to include Iran in the training drill, citing Iran’s violent actions against protesters in Tehran. Iranian security forces have killed more than 2,600 people since the protests started on December 28.

The announcement from South Africa is an attempt to salvage the country’s damaged relationship with the U.S. – a relationship that plummeted after Donald Trump took office. The drills in question were led by China and organized under the BRICS bloc of developing nations. South Africa has been a member of BRICS since its invitation from China in 2010. The BRICS group was initially created to counter U.S. and Western dominance of the global economy, but it is often used by China and Russia as a forum to criticize the West. South Africa made several critical statements about Donald Trump shortly after his inauguration in 2025, and Trump has since made many statements degrading South Africa as a country.

Problematic training drill

While initially Iran was supposed to only attend the drill as an observer, South Africa is now investigating just how involved in the drills Iran’s warships were. Iran sent two warships to attend the drill, but news media discovered a third warship present as well. Three warships are more than necessary for an ‘observer’. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has not commented on the drill, and it’s unclear why South Africa decided to host it in the first place. While South Africa claims it is a neutral, non-aligned foreign entity open to diplomatic discussions with Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized South Africa’s relationship with the country.  

Tensions between South Africa and the U.S. have tightened significantly over the last two months, and were tightened again by Donald Trump’s comments about South Africa in October. Trump claimed that South Africa was committing a genocide against its white minority, the Afrikaner people, in order to seize their land. Trump also denied South African apartheid and claimed that white people were never in charge of South Africa. South Africa has a long and violent history of apartheid, and freedom fighters like Nelson Mandela worked for years to free native South Africans from European settlers. Donald Trump’s claims about the Afrikaner people are baseless and not rooted in fact. While it’s clear that South Africa is attempting to smooth over some of the bumps in its relationship with the U.S., it’s also clear that the threat of Donald Trump is actively on the minds of South African officials.

A new poll released by AP-NORC shows that more than 50% of American adults think Trump has gone ‘too far’ with his use of the U.S. military for foreign interference. It appears as though filming and bragging about the deaths of people, even if they aren’t Americans, is enough to turn away the majority of the population. AP-NORC, a centre run by the Associated Press, conducted the poll from January 8-11, shortly after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The poll found that 56% of American adults disapproved of Trump’s actions in Venezuela and thought he had overstepped on military interventions abroad, as well as how the Republican Party has handled foreign policy as a whole.  

After taking control of Venezuela’s economy, oil exports, and parliament, Trump has been pushing for the annexation of Greenland once again. The threats have become so serious that multiple nations have sent troops to Greenland, and France has said it’s willing to bring air, sea, and ground troops to Greenland if the U.S. attempts to annex the nation. Trump has also announced that he will give aid to protesters in Iran, a contrast to the ‘America First’ messaging from Trump’s campaign. Trump has promised the U.S. will come to the rescue of the peaceful protesters of Iran. The President also announced a round of tariffs against a list of countries that are acting against his wishes in Greenland.

Approval amongst Republicans

While more than half of Americans disapprove of Trump’s foreign interference, most Republicans said that Trump’s actions were ‘just right. ’ Just 2-10 Republicans think that Trump has gone too far, skewing the overall statistics. Nine out of 10 Democratic voters and 6 out of 10 independent voters think that Trump has gone too far with his foreign interference. While 71% of Republicans support Trump’s actions, only 1 out of 10 believe he should go further. While Trump hasn’t turned the stomachs of Republican voters, they aren’t asking for more. Whether that proves that Trump’s MAGA base will always just agree with the President’s actions, or they are becoming disenfranchised with his actions, the vast majority do not want him to act more rashly overseas.

Not all Americans disagree

While most Republicans agree with Trump’s actions, still nearly half of Americans want the U.S. to take a « less active » role, and about one-third say its current role is « about right. » About half of Americans believe the U.S. intervening in Venezuela will be « mostly a good thing » for halting the flow of illegal drugs into the country, but 44% believe the U.S. actions will do more to benefit than harm the Venezuelan people. Venezuela has been under the control of Nicolas Maduro for more than a decade, and Maduro lost the last election, but refused to step aside.

This poll reflects a growing unease regarding Donald Trump’s foreign policy. While America hasn’t historically been the most discreet nation, the chaotic and aggressive approach Trump takes to foreign affairs seems to rub many Americans the wrong way. Many Trump voters cited his ‘no-nonsense’ personality in 2016, but a modicum of decorum is necessary when you have access to 5,000 nuclear weapons.