With the war in Ukraine still raging and the Middle East perpetually on the brink of implosion, Donald Trump needs a diplomat of steel as Secretary of State.
He may have an envoy at his disposal who he describes as ‘son of ab***’.
Ric Grenell has been a Trump loyalist for years and has fought many foreign policy battles at his side.
The 58-year-old was his ambassador to Germany and has already been touted as head of the CIA or national security adviser.
Now the Michigan native could be the first openly gay secretary of state in Trump’s second term.
In recent months, he has been on the front lines of the campaign, helping the now president-elect woo Arab-American Muslim voters enraged by the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the war in Gaza.
It’s the kind of territory that will help his credibility as Trump considers who he wants to represent the US on the world stage – especially now that so many countries have turned their noses up at him.
The 47th president is now at Mar-a-Lago building the team around him for his second stint in the White House. His first big move was appointing Susie Wiles as his chief of staff.
Ric Grenell, a Michigan native and Trump’s ambassador to Germany, is being proposed for top security posts
Trump praised his “guts” at the end of his tumultuous term in Berlin, where relations were still tense.
He is still part of Trump’s inner circle.
Trump called Grenell his “envoy” during his time in the White House, when he appeared abroad and made contacts with foreign officials.
He went with right-wing officials from Guatemala to Eastern Europe. The Washington Post said he acted as a kind of “secretary of state” for Trump, noting in a headline that “neither is in office.”
“His travels around the world have raised significant concerns among professional national security officials and diplomats, who warn that he is encouraging bad actors and endangering U.S. interests in service of Trump’s personal agenda,” the paper wrote.
It said he had proposed a 2023 meeting in New York between Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
There is often a divide between national security types and people who do politics.
Grenell has a foot in both camps.
He campaigned for Trump in battleground states and took the stage in Grand Rapids at Trump’s last rally.
Trump has praised him as “a fighter” during rally introductions, a nice addition for Trump in a contest in which his “fight, fight, fight” mantra became a dominant theme.
“It’s good to be home,” he told the crowd. “I’m a Michigander. I play a Californian on TV, but I was born in Muskegon.”
“As my mother will tell you, we Westsiders always vote right” – referring to Republican parts of the state – but without Detroit he wouldn’t win this election.”
One GOP official noted that he helped lead negotiations with Arab and Muslim officials in the state for Trump.
Trump played a role for traditionally Democratic voters amid anger over Israel’s war in Gaza.
He had to carry the state.
Trump has praised Grenell’s tenacity and “guts” after leaving office as US ambassador to Germany
Grenell stood for Trump in the battleground states
He has a provocative story about X
He has clashed with liberals but could pass a Republican-controlled Senate
He helped Trump reach Arab-American and Muslim voters, who helped deliver Michigan to him
Grenell has a brash Twitter account where he takes on rivals in the media. At 2 a.m. after Election Day, about half an hour after posting about Trump’s victory, he wrote, “Reporters must be wondering what they missed about the Americans.” A few minutes later he wrote: “If Kamala doesn’t give in, he’s undermining our democracy.”
When the race was over, he posted his thanks to voters in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, along with photos of himself meeting people on the campaign trail. ‘Your stories have changed me. Your patriotism is inspiring,” he wrote.
When the “End Wokeness” account posted the final results in Dearborn, Michigan — where Trump’s efforts paid off — he reposted the response, writing in response “Yalla,” Arabic for “let’s go.”
A May New York Times profile described his role in the Nevada “war room” during Trump’s election campaign, where Grenell established himself at the Venetian along with key staff.
The newspaper quoted unnamed officers telling them to “throw spaghetti on the wall” to distract the media from calling the state on Trump.
He has spoken about the role of Minister of Foreign Affairs, appreciating the power of his role.
“If you want to avoid war, it’s better to have an ab*** son as foreign minister,” he said in an episode of the current affairs podcast ‘Self Centered’.
He said the nation needs a tough diplomat “who will go to these tables and say, ‘Guys, if we don’t solve this here, if we don’t represent peace and figure out a hard way, I have to take this file, go back to the United States and turn it over to the Secretary of Defense, who does not negotiate. He’s going to bomb you.’
That is the same kind of rhetoric that Trump himself uses: during his campaign he regularly talks about issuing a warning to ‘Abdul’, a top Taliban official. While Trump is selling it, he wanted the Taliban to stop shooting at American troops, and sent the official a photo of his house — an implied threat.
Grenell has some detractors.
When a reporter reported that he was being considered for the top position at Langley, former FBI agent Asha Rangappa posted, “God help us.”
Former Biden domestic policy adviser Susan Rice called him “one of the most annoying, dishonest people I have ever encountered.”
When Trump was first nominated, Senate Democrats held up his nomination for months, based in part on his Twitter battles. Deleted tweets that got him in trouble included Michelle Obama “sweating on the East Room carpet” with her workout regimen.
“The conversations I’ve had have been like, hey, we’re looking for people who are loyal to the president and his agenda,” said a former Trump administration official who said Grenell was in the mix.
Grenell is working with Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner on a hotel project in the Balkans.
In 2013 he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. His doctors successfully treated the disease with chemotherapy.
He does have a weakness.
He takes his dog on the road, even on assignment. While stationed in Berlin, Grenell posted an image of his dog wearing sunglasses in front of an American flag.
“Happy 4th of July from Ambassador Grenell and his precious, patriotic dog Lola,” he wrote.