While late-night comics joke about the actual motive behind President-elect Donald Trump selecting his son’s (ex-?) fiancee Kimberly Guilfoyle as the U.S. ambassador to Greece, Greek citizens may not find her previous remarks about them very funny.
In a 2015 segment of Fox News’ The Five unearthed by Media Matters senior fellow Matt Gertz, Guilfoyle once described the Greeks as “freeloaders” who should be punished after rejecting a bailout offer from the European Union.
Following the Greek government debt crisis, a referendum was announced in June 2015 on whether the country should accept the bailout conditions proposed by the EU, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank. The following month, the Greek public overwhelmingly rejected the referendum, with 61 percent voting against the measure.
Reacting to the results, which eventually led to the resignations of Greek party leaders and the country’s prime minister agreeing to an austerity plan with the EU, Guilfoyle — who was then a Fox News host — described Greeks as lazy and too dependent on the government.
“I mean, nobody likes freeloaders,” she declared. “It doesn’t matter if you made great yogurt. I don’t care.”
She wasn’t done going off on the country that she will now travel to as an American diplomat.
“Suck it up,” she exclaimed. “Get up in the morning. Go to work. You guys are retiring too early. And that’s part of the problem. You have, like, politicians making out-of-control promises, buying votes with entitlements that they can’t support.”
Comparing the Greek citizens to an untrained pet, Guilfoyle concluded by saying “nobody is punishing them” like when a “dog pees on the rug.”
Guilfoyle, who has been engaged to the president-elect’s son Donald Trump Jr. since 2020, became the latest member of Trump’s clan to get a key appointment since the election. She also represents the 13th former Fox News personality named to the second Trump administration.
“For many years, Kimberly has been a close friend and ally. Her extensive experience and leadership in law, media, and politics along with her sharp intellect make her supremely qualified to represent the United States, and safeguard its interests abroad,” Trump said on Tuesday when announcing Guilfoyle as his Greek ambassador.
It didn’t take long, though, for observers to point out that Trump’s announcement of the Guilfoyle appointment came just hours after photos were published of Don Jr. strolling hand-in-hand with Florida socialite Bettina Anderson.
According to the Daily Mail, which first posted the pictures, the evening stroll marked Anderson’s 38th birthday and came after the pair enjoyed a lengthy dinner at a popular restaurant in Palm Beach.
While Guilfoyle and the younger Trump haven’t commented on their relationship status, they also haven’t been seen together publicly in a month. Sources told the Mail that Trump Jr. has recently been staying at Anderson’s house rather than the one he shares with Guilfoyle and that his encounters with the socialite have become “the talk of Palm Beach.”
