FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Grenell is acting as a "shadow US secretary of state" hinting at what could come next if Trump is re-elected. Business projects, anti-NATO agenda and contacts with Erdogan.
What direction will US foreign policy take under Trump if he is re-elected as President in November?
The question dominates the analysis, with an eye on all the (unfortunately) open fronts of the international scene, from Europe and NATO to Ukraine, from Gaza to China and Latin America. What preceded it during the first 4 years of Trump's presidency (2016-2020) is indicative, but not particularly illuminating at the same time as a guide to what may follow. Politicians like Mike Pompeo and John Bolton, who defined US foreign policy during Trump's presidency, have meanwhile left the former president's circle.
Who can the 77-year-old Trump have by his side as secretary of state and defense if he is re-elected, and who will he have as national security adviser? In this regard, only hypothetical scenarios are currently circulating.
However, according to what the Washington Post reports in a long article, it is a person in Trump's inner circle who has been working for months as a "shadow secretary of state" contacting representatives of "politically extreme" groups outside the US borders . He is 57-year-old Richard Grenell, the man whom Trump had appointed as the US ambassador to Germany in the period 2018-2020.
From Central America, to Eastern Europe and beyond, Grenell has acted as shadow secretary of state, meeting with far-right leaders and movement representatives, getting their pledges of support for Trump and, at times, working against policies of the current US administration, write the editors of the Washington Post, noting that it is not usual for a former official, now a private citizen and not a career diplomat, to continue to have contacts with foreign leaders promoting the agenda of a candidate for president.
According to the Washington Post, Grenell's moves on the international stage "have deeply alarmed national security officials and diplomats, who are sounding the alarm that he is encouraging bad actors and endangering US interests in order to serve his own personal agenda." Trump ".
It is worth noting that Trump himself presented Grenell as his "emissary" abroad, using the expression "my envoy".
At the same time, however, through these contacts and their agenda, Grenell also presents a foreign policy roadmap that Donald Trump can promote from January 2025 onwards, if elected to the White House.
According to what is reported by Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., 57-year-old Grenell is already the "favorite" for the post of US Secretary of State. According to former US National Security Adviser John Bolton, Grenell is "absolutely committed" to Trump and therefore it is really likely that he will get a ministerial post or another high post. If Trump secures a new term in the presidency, he will try to place in key positions around him, mainly those who are absolutely devoted to him, regardless of whether they have the qualifications required for their positions or not.
According to the Washington Post, Richard Grenell had contacts in Guatemala, but also in the Balkans, mainly in Serbia, from whose authorities he was even honored with a medal in 2023. Remember that during Trump's presidency, he was not only the ambassador of of the USA in Berlin, but also the special envoy of the American president for the peace negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo. Before joining the Trump administration, he had created a consulting company, Capitol Media Partners, which had as a client, among others, the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
According to an article published a few days ago in the New York Times, Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, is currently working for businesses in the Balkans through the company Affinity Partners, promoting the implementation of luxury construction projects amounting to about 1 billion dollars on the coast. of Albania and in Belgrade, in collaboration with Grenell.
"Last year, when Turkey threatened Sweden's path to NATO membership, Grenell tried to mediate by arranging a meeting between Trump and Erdogan," Washington Post editors wrote, citing sources close to Trump who spoke about newspaper under the status of anonymity. According to these sources, the Trump-Erdogan meeting was supposed to take place in New York on September 12, 2023, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, but this did not happen after the Turkish side withdrew.
Just a few months earlier, in May 2023, Grenell, who also stands out as a major critic of NATO, had praised Erdogan in a podcast, claiming that some people "unfairly demonize" the Turkish president while he is doing everything to "protect Turkey"/ Taken from "Kathimerini"
Lini një Përgjigje