Trump appointed Richard Grenell as envoy for special missions

Trump considered nominating him as the new secretary of state, but decided to appoint Florida Senator Marco Rubio instead

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Grenel, Photo: Reuters
Grenel, Photo: Reuters
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

President-elect Donald Trump has announced that he has chosen long-time foreign policy adviser Richard Grenell as special mission envoy for North Korea, Venezuela and some other countries.

Grenell was ambassador to Germany during Trump's first administration, special envoy for Serbia-Kosovo negotiations and acting director of the National Intelligence Service.

Trump considered nominating him as the new secretary of state, but decided to appoint Florida Senator Marco Rubio instead.

"Rick (Richard Grenell) will be working on some of the hottest spots in the world, including Venezuela and North Korea," Trump wrote last night in a post on his Truth Social platform.

During Trump's first presidency, Grenell was said to sometimes use a contentious approach to diplomacy, which irritated allies and influential foreign policy circles in Washington, but his style was appreciated by the US president, who believes that open dialogue with allies is a value.

"During my first term, Rick was the US ambassador to Germany, the acting director of the National Intelligence Service and the presidential envoy for Kosovo-Serbia negotiations," Trump recalled on his network.

He added that Grenel will continue to "fight for peace through strength" and that he will always put America first.

Grenell remained close to Trump when he left office in 2021, occasionally serving as his key foreign policy adviser.

He was in the room with Trump when he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in September. Grenell pushed for a peace deal that would preserve Ukrainian territory while allowing "autonomous regions" to remain under Russian control.

He also advised against NATO expansion into Ukraine, saying, like Trump, that the alliance should not expand until current members meet its goals and fit the budget. NATO members have pledged to allocate two percent of GDP to defense, but several countries still spend less than that.

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