Trump reveals he has an 'envoy ambassador' making foreign visits for him

Ah, yes — just what U.S. foreign policy needs.
Former President Donald Trump revealed in a statement he has his own "envoy ambassador," who on Thursday visited the Kosovo-Serbia border to highlight an agreement brokered during the ex-president's administration.
"The great people of Serbia and Kosovo have overcome tremendous obstacles in their pursuit of economic normalization. The agreements my administration brokered are historic and should not be abandoned, many lives are at stake," Trump wrote Thursday. "Today, my envoy ambassador Ric Grenell visited the Kosovo-Serbia border to highlight this important agreement." Grenell previously served as the special presidential envoy for Serbia and Kosovo peace negotiations during the Trump administration.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
As noted by The Wall Street Journal's Vivian Salama, Trump's phrasing regarding Grenell's is rather odd, considering no former president should have an active envoy. In all likelihood, she adds, Grenell's visit was probably more of a "courtesy" than anything of diplomatic substance.
Still, that didn't stop Twitter from highlighting the worrying absurdity (and possible illegality) of the idea of Trump conducting his own foreign policy, nor journalists and pundits from poking fun at the bizarre phrasing the ex-president used when sharing the news (though it was perhaps just a grammatical error).
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Book reviews: 'Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves' and 'Notes to John'
Feature The aughts' toxic pop culture and Joan Didion's most private pages
-
The FDA plans to embrace AI agencywide
In the Spotlight Rumors are swirling about a bespoke AI chatbot being developed for the FDA by OpenAI
-
Digital consent: Law targets deepfake and revenge porn
Feature The Senate has passed a new bill that will make it a crime to share explicit AI-generated images of minors and adults without consent
-
'Haiti's crisis is a complex problem that defies solution'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Hamas frees US hostage in deal sidelining Israel
speed read Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier, was the final living US citizen held by the militant group
-
White Afrikaners land in US as Trump-declared refugees
speed read An exception was made to Trump's near-total ban on admitting refugees for the white South Africans
-
Why are white South Africans emigrating?
The Explainer As the US welcomes Afrikaner refugees, the general exodus of South Africa's white population continues to grow
-
Democrats: How to rebuild a damaged brand
Feature Trump's approval rating is sinking, but so is the Democratic brand
-
'Two dolls': Can Trump sell Americans on austerity?
Feature Trump's tariffs may be threatening holiday shelves but they've handed Democrats a 'huge gift'
-
Qatar luxury jet gift clouds Trump trip to Mideast
speed read Qatar is said to be presenting Trump with a $400 million plane, which would be among the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the US government
-
The fertility crisis: can Trump make America breed again?
Talking Point The self-styled 'fertilisation president', has been soliciting ideas on how to get Americans to have more babies