Kimberly Guilfoyle's steamy Greek debut sparks envious whispers of a 'storm' coming for Trump
As Kimberly Guilfoyle arrives in Athens as President Donald Trump's new ambassador-designate, her weekend calendar is packed — receptions, photo ops and late-night parties with RSVPs handled through the US Embassy's own email.
All this before she formally presented her diplomatic credentials or was 'received for the first time' by the president of Greece. It amounts to a significant breach of protocol that raised eyebrows across Washington and within the foreign service establishment.
Her whirlwind debut, insiders say, embodies the Trump administration's approach to diplomacy: faster, flashier and far less constrained by the norms that once defined it. Traditional guardrails are being sidelined for pure spectacle.
Inside the diplomatic arm of the US government, confusion is mounting.
Diplomats and leaders within US embassies say they're often finding out about new postings the same way the public does — on the department's own website — a sign, diplomacy experts warn, of a foreign policy operation driven less by process and more by proximity to power.
'I think it is a potential storm waiting to happen. Countries have been acquiescent to Trump and all of his demands, so they may not call him out publicly about it now, but I think as we head into the midterms and Trump starts to lose some of his luster, we may see some changes there,' diplomat Brett Bruen said.
'The new ambassador to Cyprus, businessman John Breslow, was appointed out of nowhere. The Cypriots were not consulted, the State Department didn't know… they were blindsided,' a source close to diplomatic conversations told the Daily Mail. 'Cyprus is about to be the president of the EU. Is now really the right time to take a political appointee?'
That turbulence isn't confined to Cyprus and Greece. In Paris, US Ambassador Charles Kushner's open rebuke of the French government in late August over its handling of antisemitism and Middle East policy prompted a formal diplomatic protest — a departure from diplomatic norms that once would have been unthinkable between allies.
Her whirlwind debut, insiders say, embodies the Trump administration's approach to diplomacy: faster, flashier and far less constrained by the norms that once defined it
The State Department, however, publicly backed Kushner, framing his remarks as a defense of American values.
The list of unorthodox episodes is growing.
In Croatia, insiders say newly appointed ambassador Nicole McGraw dismissed her Deputy Chief of Mission almost immediately – a move that shocked career diplomats.
'Every president gives political ambassadorships,' said a source familiar with conversations at the State Department. 'But in the past, you'd at least pair them with a strong number two. Instead, they're firing the career people — and now it's just a political game. Are we even doing serious diplomacy anymore?'
In Beirut, US Ambassador Tom Barrack sparked outrage after chastising local journalists to 'act civilized' instead of 'animalistic' during a press conference. Lebanon's journalists' union issued a formal rebuke, and Barrack quietly cancelled a scheduled trip to southern Lebanon days later.
Further east, another flashpoint came before an ambassador even arrived. The nomination of right-wing commentator Nick Adams as US ambassador to Malaysia drew swift backlash from Malaysian officials and civil society, who called it 'an insult' given his incendiary social media history and self-styled 'alpha male' persona.
Many of Trump's newest envoys are campaign veterans, media personalities, or major donors.
Bruen said the issue isn't new but has deepened under Trump.
In Croatia, insiders say newly appointed ambassador Nicole McGraw (right) dismissed her Deputy Chief of Mission almost immediately – a move that shocked career diplomats
As Kimberly Guilfoyle jets into Athens as President Trump's new ambassador-designate, her weekend calendar is already packed — receptions, photo ops and late night parties with RSVPs handled through the US Embassy's own email
'The White House isn't necessarily looping in the State Department,' he said. 'Ultimately, it's presidential personnel and the White House deciding who gets these ambassadorial posts – and who gets told about them.'
Traditionally, the process of selecting a US ambassador is a shared effort between the president and the Senate.
The president nominates a candidate; the Senate Foreign Relations Committee conducts background checks, holds hearings, and votes on whether to recommend the nominee to the full Senate. Once confirmed, the president signs a commission officially appointing the ambassador, who is then sworn in and begins their post.
'But before the Senate votes on these nominees, the US government has engaged with a foreign partner to ensure any new ambassador will be welcome,' a Senate source noted.
Insiders still assert that constitutional balance, though, has tilted under Trump's second term. With a Senate majority and an expedited confirmation process negotiated by Senate Republican Leader John Thune, nominations are moving through in large blocks — sometimes in under a month.
Much of that acceleration is credited to Sergio Gor, the former Trump campaign aide who was driving personnel decisions before he was nominated to be the US ambassador to India.
Historically, more than half of all US ambassadors are career diplomats; the rest are political appointees. Under Trump, that ratio has shifted toward the latter.
'You might argue that this administration is doing more political appointees than other administrations,' a former high–level official with the Senate Foreign Relations committee told the Daily Mail. 'The political appointees could be a part of the 'surprise' to embassies, although it is par for the course with the administration.'
However, a State Department official said it is up to the president who leads embassies, not unelected bureaucrats, highlighting the benefits of a quick confirmation process.
Picturesque Jefferson House is the official residence of every Ambassador of the United States of America to Greece
Meanwhile, leaked plans obtained by the Daily Mail last week involve a nightclub party on Sunday hosted by Greek singer Konstantinos Argiros (pictured)
Meanwhile, the infrastructure training incoming ambassadors and senior diplomats has weakened. The State Department's Foreign Service Institute under the Biden Administration terminated its standalone Greece-Cyprus program, folding it into a broader 'Southern Europe' course focused on Turkey.
'Diplomats have expressed frustration at being insufficiently prepared,' one former State Department consultant said. 'Highly-capable personnel were sent to post without necessary country background.'
Guilfoyle's Athens rollout has become the most visible example of these shifts — a microcosm of a system prioritizing optics over process.
A photo of her holding what appeared to be an 'ambassadorial school' certificate drew ridicule.
'It's a concocted diploma, there's no such thing at the Foreign Service Institute,' the consultant added.
Leaked plans obtained by the Daily Mail last week involve a nightclub party on Sunday hosted by Greek singer Konstantinos Argiros, whose friendship with Guilfoyle first made headlines in October when she was pulled up on stage during his performance.
'Ambassador Guilfoyle is highly capable,' another diplomat told the Daily Mail. 'But from a media optic, I'm concerned about first public impressions upon arrival.'
The source added, 'This is what we've lost — the sense that diplomacy is still a profession, not a political performance.'
Guilfoyle did not respond to a Daily Mail request for comment.
