In a surprise turnaround, Washington has nominated L. Brent Bozell III to be America’s ambassador to South Africa. After a January 22 nomination to lead the U.S. Agency for Global Media, overseeing their main foreign relations outlet Voice of America, this was withdrawn on the 24th of March, in time for his diplomatic posting.

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Deep Republican

Bozell, 69, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of Dallas in 1977. He then worked for the National Conservative Political Action Committee, aiding conservative politicians, and he founded the Media Research Center (MRC) in 1987 to address perceived liberal bias in national news media. The MRC operates outlets like NewsBusters and CNS News, and in 2010, he established ForAmerica to promote America’s founding principles, noted by The New York Times as influential in the 2016 election.

Bozell has mainly focused on countering leftist bias in the media, and has written a number of books on the topic over the years. But he is of the old Republican guard rather than the new Trumpist core, though he has adjusted to the new Trumpist communication style relatively easily. His mother was the sister of famed National Review founder William F. Buckley Jr, while his uncle, James L. Buckley, served as a US senator from New York.

His paternal grandfather, Leo B. Bozell, co-founded Bozell Worldwide, a public relations agency - media handling is clearly a family business. But Bozell’s paternal side is more right-leaning than his mother’s. His father ghostwrote Barry Goldwater’s book, The Conscience of a Conservative, and defended the John Birch Society, which was targeted as an arch enemy of the National Review by Buckley, as well as moving to Spain and writing favourably of General Franco.

Brent joined the founding team of the National Conservative Political Action Committee, a direct-mail fundraising outfit, along with former Trump ally Roger Stone, which was outspoken against LGBT activism.

While he was critical of Trump in 2016, he proved his loyalty in 2020 by siding with Trump on the allegations of vote rigging in the swing states which cost him the election, and his own son was arrested amid the January 6th protests at the Capitol.

Bozell has so far made no comments on South Africa in his writings, columns, or media appearances, but his hardline Republican and Israel-friendly stance has attracted criticism from a number of left-leaning outlets. His nomination seems to indicate a specific American focus on South Africa’s legal action against Israel at the International Court of Justice, over any preoccupations with internal South African politics.

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Plan A second

But there are also factional reasons for this appointment. The previous “obvious choice” for the post was Joel Pollack, the Jewish South African-American editor of Breitbart News.

Pollack has strong ties, both familial and professional, to the leadership of the Democratic Alliance and other liberal anti-apartheid circles. His wife, Julia Bertelsmann, is South African, and her mother, Rhoda Kadalie, was a notable anti-apartheid activist, serving on the South African Human Rights Commission and founding the Gender Equity Unit at the University of the Western Cape. Pollak worked as chief speechwriter for former DA leader Tony Leon from 2002 to 2006, and is also noted as a family friend of Helen Zille - Pollak’s wedding to Julia Bertelsmann in 2009 was held at Helen Zille’s official residence.

But Pollack’s factional ties are more to Steve Bannon than to old Trump associates, and recent fallings out between Bannon and Trump over criticism of Trump’s South African-tied advisors (Musk, Thiel, etc) may be a motive.

Pollak, through Breitbart, faced controversy in 2016 over Michelle Fields’ assault allegation against Trump’s campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. Leaked internal chats showed Pollak ordering staff to stop defending Fields, leading to resignations by Fields and Ben Shapiro. Shapiro remains the key American voice of the Zionist faction in international politics, and as such holds clout that, while not necessarily decisive, carries a lot of weight.

Trump’s decision, like most others, was likely made on the basis of loyalty and alignment over regional expertise. Bozell’s lack of South African ties, in the right light, might be seen as an advantage, allowing him to implement Trump’s policies without local influence, whereas Pollak’s DA connections and family ties could suggest potential conflicts.

The DA is heavily critical of Trump, and members like Helen Zille have even entertained conspiracy theories around Russian collusion, and have been staunch partisans for the left wing of the Western political system. Recent meetings with the DA in Washington may have brought home the ideological friction, as it is unlikely that the mood would have been cordial - the DA is firmly against America taking any actions against the South African government, and has staunchly defended the ANC’s recent behaviour, with the sole exception of budget negotiations.

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Plan B first?

Bozell might prove to be a tough customer, and the ruling coalition will not have an easy time with America going forward.

However, the selection is not over yet - Bozell will have to face off against the Senate selection committee, and also against South Africa, who have the right to reject the ambassadorial selection.

What is more, Bozell might be a ringer - Trump's negotiation tactic of using offensive offers to soften his targets up, in preparation for accepting more moderate proposals that more closely align with his actual desires, is a staple of his dealmaking repertoire since the beginning.

By pushing a hardliner like Bozell out ahead, Washington may be readying South Africa to accept the more measured style of Joel Pollack, who has gotten a great deal of schtick from the South African establishment recently.

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