Trump envoy warned Greek minister US can bring down ‘any country we want’, report claims

The Wall Street Journal reports that Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump's ambassador to Greece, told a Greek minister during a March dinner in Athens that Washington could topple any government it chose. The account describes an argument with Greek energy minister Stavros Papastavrou, in which Guilfoyle, pointing to Romania's government falling apart, allegedly said the United States could do the same to any country, including Greece. Papastavrou reportedly answered that Greece's government is chosen by voters and so could not be swapped out by the US, according to The Independent.

Both sides dispute the account. Guilfoyle's attorney rejected the Journal's version of events, and Greek officials have denied any threat was made. Party general secretary Konstantinos Kyranakis, who says he attended, told the Greek outlet Kathimerini, "I was right there. There was no threat to Greece." Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis said the Greek government was never threatened and that such behavior would not have been acceptable. The White House was asked for comment.

The allegation is especially delicate in Greece, which suffered economic collapse in 2015 following a severe debt crisis and years of depression. Romania's pro-EU government fell in May after a no-confidence vote removed prime minister Ilie Bolojan, and its currency hit a record low against the euro beforehand. Guilfoyle, 57, is a lawyer and former California prosecutor who moved into television at Fox News and was once engaged to Donald Trump Jr. Trump named her ambassador in December 2024, calling her a close friend and ally.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Independent’s reporting. Read the full story at The Independent →