Trump’s 7 most eye-opening European ambassador picks

A month out from his return to the White House, Donald Trump is hard at work announcing who will represent the United States and his new administration across the Atlantic.

With about 200 global ambassador posts to be filled, all of whom must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, there’s still a long way to go. But already a pattern is emerging: The president-elect is rewarding his allies, donors and relatives with cushy foreign envoy gigs in Europe.

While Trump isn’t the only U.S. leader to have followed this path, some of his choices are more colorful than most, to say the least.

France: The ex-con

Trump announced 70-year-old real estate mogul Charles Kushner as his ambassador to France.

If the name rings a bell, it’s because Kushner is the father of Jared Kushner, who is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka and was a senior adviser to Trump during his first term.

The elder Kushner was convicted by a federal jury in 2005 of making illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion and witness tampering and served two years in prison. Trump pardoned him in 2020.

“He is a tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker, who will be a strong advocate representing our Country & its interests,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “Together, we will strengthen America’s partnership with France, our oldest Ally, & one of our greatest!”

Gérard Araud, who was France’s top envoy to the U.S. during Trump’s first term, blasted Trump and Kushner on social media, calling the appointment part of an “insanity of nominations by Trump” that demonstrated “total contempt for human respect, custom and the law.”

United Kingdom: The banker

Trump picked fellow billionaire Warren Stephens to be the American emissary to the U.K.

“Warren has always dreamed of serving the United States full time,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “I am thrilled that he will now have that opportunity as the top Diplomat, representing the U.S.A. to one of America’s most cherished and beloved Allies.”

Stephens, a 67-year-old Arkansas investment banker, donated $1 million to Trump’s campaign over the summer.

But he was not always such a Trump loyalist: He spent millions in support of efforts to stop Trump from clinching the Republican nomination in 2016.

In 2017, The Guardian reported on a trove of leaked documents that revealed Stephens co-owned a company being investigated for breaking federal laws.

Greece: The ex

Former Fox News host and prosecutor Kimberly Guilfoyle isTrump’s pick for the next U.S. ambassador to Greece.

Calling Guilfoyle a “close friend and ally,” Trump said she “is perfectly suited to foster strong bilateral relations with Greece, advancing our interests on issues ranging from defense cooperation to trade and economic innovation.”

Guilfoyle, one of Trump’s staunchest and most high-profile supporters, was also engaged to the president-elect’s son, Donald Trump Jr. — though recent media reports suggest they may have split.

In a 2015 segment on Fox News, Guilfoyle — who was formerly married to Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom — described the Greeks as “freeloaders” who need to be punished and compared them to an untrained dog that “pees on the rug” in reference to the country’s financial crisis.

“It doesn’t matter if you made great yogurt,” she added. “I don’t care.”

Turkey: The lobbyist

Trump tapped Tom Barrack, a private equity billionaire and former senior adviser to the Trump campaign who faced legal scrutiny for his work on behalf of the United Arab Emirates, as the next U.S. envoy to Turkey.

Barrack, an Arabic speaker born to Lebanese parents, worked in the Reagan administration in the 1980s and chaired the committee managing Trump’s 2017 presidential inauguration.

He was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2021 on charges that he was lobbying the Trump campaign on behalf of the UAE while pursuing business deals valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars — but was acquitted by a jury on all charges in November 2022.

“He is a well respected and experienced voice of reason to a wide range of thought leaders in both political and business circles,” Trump said, making no mention of Barrack’s ties to the UAE or the former case against him.

Austria: The knight

Art Fisher, a real estate agent from North Carolina, is Trump’s choice to be Austria’s next U.S. ambassador.  

Fisher runs his family’s real estate business in the western, largely rural part of the state. He is listed as a member of the Trumpettes, a group dedicated to electing Trump, and reportedly donated thousands to down ballot Republican candidates.

“He has been consistently ranked as a top broker in the area, and the State of North Carolina, representing many of the most astute clients in America,” Trump wrote, adding Fisher “will make us proud in Austria!”

According to his website, Fisher “was recently Knighted and has become a member of the Dynastic Order of the Royal House of Bourbon, an Order whose membership includes United States Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa.”

Croatia: The art collector

Trump announced fine art collector Nicole McGraw as his pick for the next ambassador to Croatia, describing her as “a philanthropist, businesswoman, and World renowned art collector.”

According to her website, McGraw holds a degree in Art History from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and received permission from the U.S. government to travel to Cuba in 2001, amassing a collection of Cuban art.

She also lists herself as the CEO and co-founder of a firm “creating, distributing and monetizing NFTs (non-fungible tokens).”

NFTs, a largely unregulated crypto industry, have attracted the attention of tax enforcers in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, the U.K. and the U.S. — as well as Trump himself, who sells a line of NFTs and dubbed himself the “crypto president.”

Luxembourg: The producer

Luxembourg’s American envoy — if confirmed — will be Stacey Feinberg, a Trump campaign donor and an investor.

“As a Producer of Broadway musicals, a motivational speaker, and a Board Member of the Women Founders Network, Stacey is committed to supporting women in launching their careers, and scaling their businesses to unprecedented success,” Trump wrote.

Feinberg, who is the daughter of legendary sports agent Bob Woolf, is also credited as a producer for Jagged Little Pill, a musical inspired by the music of Alanis Morissette. 

Her entertainment links gel with Trump’s affinity for appointing showbiz personalities to key posts, such as celebrity physician Dr. Mehmet Oz to oversee the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) CEO Linda McMahon to serve as secretary of education.