Secretary of State Marco Rubio became frustrated with the press while preparing to leave Greece for Portugal, criticizing their demands for comment on an alleged investigation into Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle.
The Wall Street Journal published a report Wednesday claiming Guilfoyle tapped a political ally to pay $100,000 in credit card debt before accepting her position as ambassador to Greece, promising to link the benefactor with political officials. A subsequent report from the Daily Mail claimed the Department of State Office of Inspector General is investigating the ambassador for workplace conduct.
Rubio hand-waved questions about these reports on Thursday as he prepared to jet from the Hellenic Republic to Portugal, dismissing the line of inquiry as a “game” to generate headlines.
“You guys are gonna ask me this, you’re gonna ask me again in Portugal. I know the game. The game is — someone gives information to a newspaper or media outlet, the media outlet reports it, you immediately turn to me and say, ‘I need you to respond to our reporting.’ That’s not the way this process works,” he told the press pool on Thursday.
Rubio confirmed that he was aware of the Wall Street Journal report but said he was not aware of whether the allegations were true — insisting that he would not litigate the situation through the press.
“I don’t even know if it’s true or not true, so it’s just not going to work that way and it’s most certainly not going to work that way while I’m sitting in another country,” Rubio said. “You guys are not going to be our only source of information in the world.”
He continued: “You guys walk around thinking that because some source told you something and you reported it, it’s the gospel. It’s not the gospel. It’s not the gospel for me. That’s not the way we do things.”
The allegations against Guilfoyle claim she contacted Eric Deters, a wealthy donor of President Donald Trump, to request a direct wire of funds to American Express to pay off her debt before becoming ambassador.
“Honey please I need you to get this done for me today,” she wrote in one message provided to the Wall Street Journal. In another, she instructs him: “It won’t show up anywhere if you wire money to American Express.”
Deters confirmed the exchange of messages in subsequent interviews, telling MS Now: “Kimberly Guilfoyle is a grifter. Kimberly Guilfoyle — I have no doubt — has done this to more than me. She’s doing it right now in Greece.”
Guilfoyle, 57, was appointed as the ambassador to Greece not long after breaking her multiyear engagement to Donald Trump Jr. in 2024. She previously worked as a Fox News host and prosecutor in California. She was previously married to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) in the early 2000s.
Rubio praised Guilfoyle during a Wednesday press conference with the Greek foreign minister, where he said the “embassy here is doing a great job” and “our ambassador has been a strong ambassador here.”
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The state secretary has wrapped a multiday visit to Greece — the highlight of which was a scenic hilltop speech framed by the Acropolis.
Touching down in Portugal later in the day, he met with Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel for a joint press conference. Rubio praised the Portuguese government for its efforts to modernize its military and its actions to quash narco-terrorism around the world.
