Kimberly Guilfoyle Gets Unexpected Trump Family Support at Confirmation Hearing
Donald 'Donnie' Trump III, 16, trekked to Washington and sat behind Guilfoyle at her Congressional confirmation hearing Wednesday, where she pleaded her case to be the next U.S. ambassador to Greece.
Guilfoyle, 56, even shouted out the Trump scion, who is expected to be on summer break from a high school in South Florida. The teen, who is one of Don Jr.'s five children with his ex-wife Vanessa Trump, was wearing a blue jacket and a fuchsia tie.
Donnie Trump stared forward—displaying mannerisms similar to those expressed by his grandfather—as Guilfoyle thanked him for his support.
'I would like to thank my closest family and friends for their support, their encouragement throughout this process,' Guilfoyle told lawmakers. 'I would like to offer special thanks and love to my son, Ronan, my brother Tony Guilfoyle, and to Donnie Trump for their steadfast support.'
Guilfoyle also thanked her mom, who hails from Puerto Rico, and her dad, an Irish immigrant, for their support, as well as President Donald Trump. That put the teenage Trump in exclusive company during Guilfoyle's brief opening statement.
Don Jr., 47, confirmed in December that he and Guilfoyle split, shortly after the Daily Mail published photos of him cozying up in public next to Bettina Anderson, a Palm Beach socialite he is now openly dating. Their relationship reportedly began last August, when they were spotted together around Palm Beach, where Mar-a-Lago is located.
Don Jr. and Guilfoyle's relationship began in 2018, shortly after his divorce from his then-wife Vanessa. Donnie was about nine-years-old when Guilfoyle and her son—who is two years his senior—first entered his life.
Guilfoyle and Don Jr. got engaged amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when Donnie was 11, but a wedding date was never set. It would have been Guilfoyle's third marriage, as she was previously wed to the businessman Eric Villency and Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Guilfoyle did not have a prominent role in her would-be father-in-law's 2024 presidential campaign, four years after she was an official adviser and fundraiser during his failed 2020 bid. Her erasure, along with the lack of an announced wedding date, sparked rumors that she and Don Jr. may be experiencing troubles.
Reports emerged shortly after that Don Jr. was dating Anderson, a 38-year-old who has never been married and has no children. Guilfoyle has not commented about her ex's new belle, but an insider told People that Anderson requested Guilfoyle be exiled from Trumpworld. A day after Anderson and Trump went public with their relationship, the president announced he was nominating Guilfoyle as U.S. ambassador to Greece.
There were no public fireworks in the breakup. Don Jr. congratulated his former fiancée on her appointment, saying he was 'so proud' of her. Guilfoyle offered an equally boring-but-polite message the following month to wish Don Jr. happy birthday, writing simply, 'Happy Birthday Don Jr.'
There were signs as far back as November that Guilfoyle was on the outs in the MAGA inner circle. Shortly after President Trump's election win, his granddaughter, Kai Trump, posted a photo of the 'whole squad.' The photo-op included all the Trump children, their spouses, the president's grandkids, and even Elon Musk, but not Guilfoyle.
While it does not appear she will ever be President Trump's daughter-in-law, or Donnie Trump's stepmom, Guilfoyle seems to be happy spending her days in Athens, Greece, should senators vote to confirm her position this month.
'To be nominated to represent the United States is truly a great privilege, and to be considered for a post in Greece, the very Birthplace of Democracy, is a uniquely humbling honor,' she told senators on Wednesday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
15 minutes ago
- CBS News
Trump says Vance is "most likely" his heir apparent
President Trump said Tuesday he sees Vice President JD Vance as an early favorite to serve as his successor. A reporter asked Mr. Trump whether he sees Vance as the "heir apparent to MAGA." The president responded that Vance is "most likely" the leading contender. "It's too early, obviously, to talk about it. But certainly he's doing a great job, and he would be probably favored at this point," the president said during an unrelated executive order-signing ceremony. Mr. Trump also mentioned Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and suggested he's "somebody that maybe would get together with JD in some form." And he said the Republican Party has some other "incredible people." The president has singled out Rubio and Vance in the past, but has mostly avoided choosing a favorite. He praised both men in a May interview with NBC News' "Meet the Press" and said he didn't "want to get involved" in picking a leader, though he noted that the vice president would typically "have an advantage." Vance and Rubio are both seen as possible contenders for the 2028 GOP presidential nomination. The two were once vehement Trump critics — with Rubio running against Mr. Trump in the 2016 GOP primaries — but they have repositioned themselves as allies and defenders of the president since then. At least publicly, both men have been coy about their political ambitions. Late last month, Rubio downplayed the possibility of a presidential run in an interview on Fox News' "My View with Lara Trump," which is hosted by the president's daughter-in-law. Rubio said he thinks Vance "would be a great nominee if he decides he wants to do that," adding that he'd be satisfied if secretary of state ended up being "the apex of my career." Meanwhile, Vance told Fox News' "Fox and Friends" in April he isn't focused on 2028, adding: "When we get to that point, I'll talk to the president. We'll figure out what we want to do." Mr. Trump has also repeatedly toyed with the possibility of running for a third term — even though the Constitution forbids presidents from serving for more than two terms. Earlier Tuesday, he told CNBC's "Squawk Box" he "probably" won't run for another term.
New York Times
17 minutes ago
- New York Times
House Committee Issued a Subpoena for the Epstein Files
The House Oversight Committee issued a subpoena today requesting that the Justice Department hand over its files related to Jeffrey Epstein by Aug. 19. The committee also sent subpoenas to 10 former Democratic and Republican government officials it said it was seeking to question. Should the Justice Department fail to meet the deadline, it could set up a high-profile clash between the Trump administration and Congress over an issue that has sharply divided Republicans. At a town hall held by Representative Mike Flood during which the Nebraska Republican was heckled and booed for over an hour, frustration over the handling of the case fueled some of the jeers. Three Republicans broke from Trump to back the subpoena for the Epstein files. But they expanded the request to include the subpoenas for the 10 former officials, including Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and the former attorneys general Merrick Garland, William Barr and Jeff Sessions. The Trump administration has sought to tamp down the anger in part by requesting the release of grand jury transcripts related to the case. However, Epstein's longtime companion, Ghislaine Maxwell, asked a judge today to deny the government's request. For more: Epstein spent years turning a palatial townhouse on the Upper East Side in Manhattan into a place where he could flaunt his connections. The Times reviewed previously unreported images from inside the mansion, showing Epstein's surveillance cameras and his collection of framed photographs with world leaders. Take a look inside. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Senate GOP ready to go nuclear after Schumer's 'political extortion' of nominees
Senate Republicans are mulling whether to go nuclear after negotiations with Senate Democrats to ram through President Donald Trump's nominees fell apart over the weekend. The path to confirming dozens of Trump's outstanding nominees was destroyed when the president accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., of "political extortion," and charged that the Democratic leader's asking price for nominees was too high. Trump Tells Schumer To 'Go To Hell' Over Senate Nominee Deal Funding Demands After Negotiations Collapse Now, lawmakers have left Washington without a deal to bundle dozens of nominees that made it through committee with bipartisan support, and a change to how the Senate handles the confirmation process is on the horizon. Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., berated Schumer and Senate Democrats for their "unprecedented" blocks of the president's nominees, and noted that every pick had been filibustered save for Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who glided through the Senate earlier this year. "We have been working through the list, but there is still a large backlog because of the unprecedented filibuster by the Democrats of every nominee," Barrasso said. "And if they don't change their behavior, we're going to have to change how things are done here, because a president needs to have his or her team in place." Read On The Fox News App Dems Dig In, Trump Demands All: Nominee Fight Boils Over In Senate As Gop Looks For A Deal Under normal circumstances, changing the rules in the Senate would require 67 votes, meaning that Senate Democrats would have to be on board with a change. However, there is a path that lawmakers refer to as the nuclear option, which allows for rules changes to only need a simple majority. There is the political will among Republicans to change the rules, but doing so would open the door for Senate Democrats to do the same when they get into power once more. "I think that way is going to happen anyways, because of what Schumer has done. He's forced this, and it's ridiculous that he's doing this," Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said. "And so, whatever, we're at this point, and we'll do, you know what they say, every action requires an equal [reaction], and that's what we're at right now." Some of the options on the table include shortening the debate time for nominees, getting rid of procedural votes for some lower-level nominees, grouping certain civilian nominees "en bloc" – something that is already done for military nominees – and, at the committee level, deciding whether to lower the number of nominees subject to the confirmation process. Gridlock Crumbles As Senate Advances Spending Bills In Race Against Shutdown Currently, over 1,200 positions go through Senate confirmation. Senate Republicans have been able to confirm over 130 of Trump's picks so far, but had a loftier goal of doing at least 60 more before leaving town until September. And there are over 140 nominees still pending on the Senate's calendar. "I think they're desperately in need of change," Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters. "I think that the last six months have demonstrated that this process, nominations, is broken. And so I expect there will be some good robust conversations about that." As to when lawmakers will try to run with a rules change is still in the air. The Senate is gone from Washington until early September and will return to a looming deadline to avert a partial government shutdown. Before leaving town, the Senate did advance a trio of spending bills – a first in the upper chamber since 2018 – but those same bills are unlikely to pass muster in the House, given that they spend at higher levels than the ones greenlit by the House GOP. Ramming a rules change through without Democrats could also come at a price for government funding negotiations. Schumer said a possible rules change would be a "huge mistake" for Republicans to do on their own. "Because when they go at it alone, they screw up for the American people and for themselves," he said. When asked if there were any possible rule changes that he and Senate Democrats could agree to, Schumer said, "We should be working together on legislation to get things done for the American people." "That's the way to go, not changing the rules, because when they change the rules, they say, 'Only we're going to decide what's good for the American people,' and every time they do that, the American people lose," Schumer said. Still, Republicans were unhappy with the way negotiations devolved after days of back and forth. "We actually, we wanted a deal," Mullin said. "And these people deserve to be put in position… they're going to say that we're trying to do a nuclear option. The fact is, they – Schumer – went nuclear a long time."Original article source: Senate GOP ready to go nuclear after Schumer's 'political extortion' of nominees
