Richard Grenell, a former U.S. ambassador and key foreign policy advisor to Donald Trump, pledged that a second Trump administration would strengthen relations between the United States and Greece during a speech to Greek American leaders in Philadelphia.
Grenell’s comments came as former President Donald Trump, in a recent interview, signaled openness to bringing the former ambassador back into his administration if elected.
In the interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Trump was asked about potentially reappointing Grenell, along with former national security adviser Robert O’Brien and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), as key national security figures.
In his remarks, Grenell addressed issues of particular importance to Greek Americans, including religious freedom, security in the Eastern Mediterranean, and strengthening U.S.-Greece relations, according to a press release.
The event was co-chaired by Representatives Gus Bilirakis and Nicole Malliotakis, as well as businessman Christos Marafatsos.
Greek-American relations have been steadily improving. Where do you think the Biden administration fell short in this relationship, and what would Donald Trump do differently?
Well, look, first of all, we’ve strengthened NATO. We’ve tried to make sure that there’s more money going into NATO. And what Donald Trump is concerned about is having an alliance where every single member pulls its own weight. It’s very important, because if we’re going to be able to collectively combat today’s threats, everybody has to play a part. And I think Donald Trump is also focused on immigration issues and the failure of Europe to really deal with these. Specifically, Chancellor Merkel. We’ve really watched as she put together an immigration plan that was not well thought out. And it certainly wasn’t implemented very well. And so what happened is, because of Chancellor Merkel’s failure to really confront the immigration issue, where the Greeks were taking some of the frontline problems first, they were taking the brunt of a lot of these problems.
So can we expect a Trump administration to support Greece and Europe in addressing the immigration issue?
I think what you’ll have from President Trump’s next administration is exactly what you had from President Trump’s last administration, which is the ability to talk these issues out. President Trump works all the time. He’s going to pick up the phone and call leaders. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris haven’t. They’ve demonstrated over the last four years that they’ve really ignored Greece. I’m not sure Kamala knows much about Greece. Donald Trump does, and we’ve been able to really improve the relationship. because of these issues and because we’ve been able to talk through some of this.
American energy companies are involved in in the Eastern Mediterranean, and the United States is aiming to reduce Europe’s dependence on America’s adversaries. With Turkey interfering in the completion of these projects, how would a Trump administration address this challenge?
Well look, we want every single member of NATO to be able to work together and that’s what Trump is going to focus on. He doesn’t focus on the politics; he focuses on economics. That’s what he did for the past four years and when he’s president that’s what he’ll do again. Growing economies so that every single person has a better job, a better paying job and their families are able to stay in the region and really grow their own family and have a prosperous future that’s filled with hope. If you just concentrate on the politics, then you don’t grow your economy, you don’t solve problems. And one of the things that Donald Trump does really well is rejecting all the politics and concentrating on the economy and growing jobs.
Does that mean he will support the energy projects that are currently underway?
Energy issues and trade issues are incredibly important. Donald Trump wants America to be an energy exporter. That means that we will have enough energy to push out into Europe, into the Balkans. And we are going to need partners. We have always envisioned having partnerships with the Greeks to supply that energy. And so, I think there’s no question that they will be an integral part of what Donald Trump calls energy independence.
Despite the current de-escalation, Turkey continues to dispute Greece’s sovereignty over certain islands and to uphold an active casus belli. Would a Trump administration support advanced weapons sales, including the F-35, if Turkey maintains these policies?
Yeah, well first of all, you’re not going to be surprised that we’re concentrating on winning Pennsylvania and Michigan and Wisconsin right now. We’ve got a campaign to run. There’ll be plenty of time for those policy issues later.
If a future crisis arises in the Aegean, can we expect a Trump administration to intervene proactively to defuse tensions?
Well look, Donald Trump absolutely believes in diplomacy and especially for all of the NATO members. And so we will always concentrate on that. Donald Trump has been very successful in diplomacy, trying to get people to solve their problems peacefully. And that means picking up the phone and talking to people, going to them and visiting them, and keeping the voices that are involved all informed and able to come together and talk their issues out. We have a president right now, Joe Biden, who hasn’t spoken to Vladimir Putin in three and a half years. They haven’t even spoken on the phone. Kamala Harris doesn’t know how to bring Israel and the Arabs together. She’s not going to be able to solve these problems. She’s going to get run over by big personalities.
And how do you envision the future relationship with Turkey, which is a challenging ally, under a Trump administration?
Well, first of all, we want to concentrate on this election. And so, I hope that every single Greek American will get out and support Donald Trump. It’s incredibly important. We’ve put a lot of effort into this relationship. And we hope that we see that throughout all the swing states, Greek Americans supporting Donald Trump. So, thank you very much.
In closing, are there any specific areas where you would like to see improvements in the bilateral relationship between the United States and Greece?
Well, I think we should immediately have a big party on Mykonos to celebrate President Trump getting elected. I cannot think of a better place than Mykonos, Greece. It is a place that is very special to me, and I go there regularly, every single year. And so, I think we will have to figure out how to throw a big party on Mykonos.
