Trump Makes Up a Job for Gay Loyalist Richard Grenell
The gay Trump acolyte will serve as the Presidential Envoy for Special Missions, a role whose duties are yet to be revealed.
President-elect Donald Trump has proclaimed that Richard “Ric” Grenell will be the Presidential Envoy for Special Missions, a government position seemingly created specifically to give Grenell something to do in the administration.
Trump made the announcement on his Truth Social platform on December 14, congratulating MAGA’s main gay man on his appointment.
“In my First Term, Ric was the United States Ambassador to Germany, Acting Director of National Intelligence, and Presidential Envoy for Kosovo-Serbia Negotiations,” Trump wrote. “Ric will continue to fight for Peace through Strength, and always put AMERICA FIRST.”
Grenell’s position does not currently exist, so it’s unclear what, exactly, his new role will entail.
But Trump posted that Grenell “will work in some of the hottest spots around the World, including Venezuela and North Korea.”
Grenell had reportedly lobbied behind the scenes to become Trump’s Secretary of State. The highly-coveted job went to U.S. Sen Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) instead.
But just last week, Trump indicated that there would be a role for Grenell, who has been one of the president-elect’s most vocal and aggressive supporters. He posted on Truth Social that Grenell was “a fabulous person, A STAR” who would “be someplace, high up!”
Grenell’s newly-created position may see him deployed to various problem areas to tackle foreign policy challenges. And yet, it’s unclear how the job will function in conjunction with Rubio’s — and whether their individual actions taken on behalf of the Trump administration will clash.
It’s also unclear whether Trump and Republican U.S. Senate leadership will require Grenell to be confirmed by the full U.S. Senate, reported by The Associated Press.
Grenell has been one of the president’s most stalwart defenders when it comes to foreign policy, often criticizing detractors publicly on social media and highlighting their errors or disagreements in ways that seem flippant, irreverent, or just plain nasty and petty.
A Republican former operative, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told The New York Times in May that after a recent disagreement, Grenell combed through five years of the operative’s tweets to mount a weeks-long online attack against them.
Grenell previously served as U.S. spokesman at the United Nations under the George W. Bush administration, and as an adviser to 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney, before rising to prominence during the Trump administration as U.S. ambassador to Germany.
In that role, he rankled many within foreign policy establishment circles for his combative approach but also won fans among a few who appreciated his bluntness. In one instance, Grenell made headlines after telling Breitbart London that he planned to “empower” anti-establishment German conservatives opposing “the failed policies of the left.”
In 2019, Grenell, as the highest-ranking gay person in Trump’s administration, was tapped to lead a campaign aimed at encouraging other countries to change or repeal any laws criminalizing homosexuality or same-sex relations.
The campaign — which was limited to decriminalization and careful not to bring up LGBTQ rights or legal protections — was seen by foreign policy experts as a way to leverage support for stricter U.S. sanctions against Iran by highlighting that country’s record of human rights abuses.
The campaign conflicted with past Trump administration policy, in which the United States shied away from pressuring or penalizing countries with anti-LGBTQ laws because doing so might constitute “religious persecution. It was criticized by LGBTQ and human rights advocates who told The Daily Beast the campaign had achieved no significant victories.
In 2020, Trump tapped Grenell as acting director of national intelligence, making him the first gay cabinet-level appointee in U.S. history.
During the 2020 campaign, Grenell was one of the more prominent conservative voices defending Trump’s record on LGBTQ rights. Grenell attacked Joe Biden, the then-presumptive Democratic nominee for the presidency, over past remarks he’d made about gay rights and homosexuals being potential security risks when he was the U.S. senator from Delaware.
Some left-leaning advocates blasted Grenell, accusing him of “gaslighting” LGBTQ Americans by misrepresenting Trump’s record on LGBTQ rights.
Grenell remained close to Trump after he left office, serving as a key adviser on foreign policy.
In recent years, Grenell has worked on private equity projects, allegedly leveraging his relationships with individuals in Balkan countries on behalf of both himself and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who is looking to develop multiple hotel and tourism projects in the region.
Grenell has also been credited with helping former and soon-to-be First Lady Melania Trump earn money through speaking fees, securing $250,000 for her to address a Log Cabin Republicans event and another $250,000 to address Fix California, an election integrity and voter engagement group founded by Grenell in 2021.
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