Donald Trump\u2019s announcements about who the next ambassadors to Greece and Turkey will be immediately sparked the well-known \u201ccomparison\u201d. Where everything the US, or other major powers, do in Greece and Turkey is compared between the two countries, either to \u201cprove\u201d that Greece was once again wronged-ignored-shunned (the perception of self-flagellation), or more rarely that the opposite happened (the perception of Greek uniqueness and exceptionality).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In practice? Probably neither one nor the other happens. In the US, the appointments of new ambassadors by each President have this peculiarity, to include a significant percentage of persons outside the diplomatic corps, with the primary reason of course being to\u2026 reward some friends and supporters of the new presidency. It happens in all governments, it has sometimes led to divisive or disappointing incidents, but it is established. Indicatively, the appointments of \u201cfriends\/supporters\u201d range around a third of the positions, and the rest are covered by the American diplomatic corps, which has a strong culture of its own and has highlighted important personalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Especially here, Trump, in his first term, had shaken up \u201ctradition\u201d, as he had appointed around 40% of the ambassadors from his own circle of friends and supporters, so it was considered that he had gone too far. And he had even given his friends crucial positions, e.g. in France he had sent Jamie McCourt as ambassador, who was his financier and owner – together with her husband – of the Los Angeles Dodgers team, without having any connection to international politics. Furthermore, in Britain, Woody Johnson, a long-time supporter of the Republicans, friend and sponsor of Trump, had been appointed. Here too, the new ambassador was a prominent businessman and owner of the New York Jets (\u2026), with many complaints emerging about his behavior among the embassy staff in London. While the ambassador to the UN (one of the most critical positions) had been taken on by Kelly Craft (before, again under Trump, she had been appointed ambassador to Canada where she was accused of\u2026 being absent from her post most of the time), a crucial element in her appointments was the strengthening of Trump’s 2016 election campaign with millions of dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So what does it mean for a country if its new American ambassador is \u201cpersonal\u201d and a friend of the current President? Generally, nothing special. Because the important thing is that he will be surrounded by career diplomats, who will also take on the heavy burden of contacts and negotiations, while even more crucial is the central policy of the United States, which he will be called upon to implement. As no one in such a position exercises his \u201cpersonal preference\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In other words, each ambassador can set his personal tone, make fewer or more public appearances, cultivate friendships and good relations with domestic politicians or, more generally, with influential figures, emphasize certain actions, but he does not cease to express the State Department and the mechanisms there for forming foreign policy, with the supervision\/confirmation of the President of the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the new Trump era, however, having a country’s ambassador “close to the President”, that is, outside the traditional mechanisms of the State Department, may be an advantage! As he himself particularly trusts people he knows personally and considers “loyal” to him. So perhaps a direct channel of communication with him will be organized in this way (it depends of course on how the Greek handling will be).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thus, the 77-year-old Tom Barrack, who is appointed as the new US ambassador to Turkey, belongs to the “Trump circle”, having collaborated with him in various real estate businesses, but he mainly emerged in his first election campaign, in 2016, as he assumed a key role in raising election funds, also offering the contacts he had created in Qatar, the Emirates and Saudi Arabia, through investments. He also has a history, as he was charged in 2021 with \u201cserving the interests of foreign countries,\u201d but was eventually acquitted. In general, we are talking about a well-connected businessman, with relations with the Arab world, with whatever \u201csins\u201d he may have, who has distinguished himself in raising funds for Trump. So an appointment of him as ambassador, in a country that is also considered \u201ctop shelf\u201d of foreign policy, is a good reward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n