President Trump said he is considering firing Kimberly Guilfoyle as U.S. ambassador to Greece over a report that she asked one of his donors for $100,000 to pay off a personal debt.
The president was asked about the allegation Monday night as he left the White House for a campaign rally in Ohio and whether he would fire Ms. Guilfoyle.
“Well, we’re looking at it,” the president said. “Yeah, we’re not happy.”
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Mr. Trump did not elaborate beyond that. But his brief statement confirms Ms. Guilfoyle, who was previously engaged to Donald Trump Jr., could soon be out of a job.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Ms. Guilfoyle asked Trump donor and former Kentucky GOP gubernatorial candidate Eric Deters for $100,000 to pay off her debt to American Express. She sent the request via Signal, an encrypted messaging app, six days before her Senate confirmation hearing in July.
“It won’t show up anywhere if you wire money to American Express,” she wrote. “Please.”
Ms. Guilfoyle and Mr. Deters have had a working relationship since 2020, when he paid her to speak at Freedom Fest events in response to COVID-19 medical mandates in Kentucky.
Jesse Binnall, Ms. Guilfoyle’s attorney, said the ambassador had been paid to speak at events before her nomination and “was owed a balance for traveling to and supporting these patriotic events.”
Mr. Deters denied that, saying he did not owe her any balance.
The text message exchanges between the two had been going on for months before the $100,000 request.
Mr. Deters wanted Ms. Guilfoyle’s help getting the Trump administration’s attention on some personal tax and legal issues. The texts show she promised to lobby top Trump administration officials, including FBI Director Kash Patel, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi and IRS Chief Billy Long on his behalf.
Mr. Deters told the Journal that Ms. Guilfoyle said if he came up with the money, “I will be your Trump ride or die, forever and ever.”
“She never came through on anything,” Mr. Deters said, and he never provided the $100,000 she requested.
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