Online outrage erupted after President Donald Trump used an unconventional moniker for U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle at a White House event celebrating Greek Independence Day, sparking renewed questions about his connection with his son’s former fiancée and the situation surrounding her diplomatic posting.
During the East Room event on March 26, 2026, the 79-year-old president called Guilfoyle to the stage, where he revealed what he characterized as his “little pet name” for the 57-year-old diplomat.
“I love calling her ‘Kimber-lay,’ that’s my little pet name, right?” Trump told the assembled crowd. “But you are the greatest, and I heard they love you over there. And I hope you come back here in 12 years or whenever the term ends.”
The exchange quickly attracted strong condemnation on social media, with commenters characterizing the remark as “disturbing” and “inappropriate” considering Guilfoyle’s prior engagement to Donald Trump Jr. and her present diplomatic position.
Guilfoyle was Trump Jr.’s fiancée for multiple years following their engagement on Dec. 31, 2020, though the pair concluded their six-year romance in December 2024. During that same month, President Trump revealed his plan to nominate her as ambassador to Greece. The Senate approved her on Sept. 18, 2025, in a close 51-47 vote.
The 48-year-old Trump Jr. later began a new relationship, getting engaged to Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson, 39, at a White House holiday party on Dec. 15, 2025.
Detractors slammed the president’s statements as violating professional standards. Numerous individuals highlighted the inherent discomfort of a sitting president employing what some critics described as a sexually suggestive moniker for his son’s ex-fiancée, a woman he had selected to represent the United States internationally.
The episode rekindled debates about nepotism and political appointments within the Trump administration. Guilfoyle’s nomination generated skepticism given her familial connections to the Trump family and her position as a vocal campaign surrogate during the 2024 election cycle.
Guilfoyle carries a complicated political background to her ambassadorship. She held the position of First Lady of San Francisco from 2001 to 2006 during her marriage to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, now widely considered a leading contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination. After divorcing Newsom, she married businessman Eric Villency in 2006, with whom she shares a son named Ronan. That marriage ended in 2009.
Following her divorce from Villency, Guilfoyle spent 12 years at Fox News from 2006 to 2018 before becoming deeply involved with the Trump family’s political operations. She played a major role in shaping President Trump’s 2024 election campaign.
Some detractors took the comment even further, with multiple individuals mentioning Jeffrey Epstein in their responses, implying the nickname had troubling connotations.
Despite the public backlash, Guilfoyle has remained supportive of the president. In an interview with the New York Times, she said her relationship with Trump: “That’s one of the things the president loves about me—that I’m loyal, I’m smart, that I’m effective.”
She has also claimed to be happy for her ex-fiancé, Trump Jr., and his new relationship with Anderson.
Guilfoyle now resides in Athens at Jefferson House, which serves as both her living quarters and a venue for hosting diplomatic events. The ambassador’s spending at the property drew scrutiny on April 1, 2026, when leaked documents revealed she had requested the construction of a $58,000 basketball court on the grounds and sought to hire a personal photographer at approximately $29,000 per year, with both costs to be covered by U.S. taxpayers. During her tenure, she has been involved in several economic initiatives, including the development of a U.S.-backed port near Athens and a deal to import American liquefied natural gas from Greece to Ukraine.
However, not everyone in Greece has embraced her appointment. George Katrougalos, the Greek foreign minister under the previous leftist government, and Constantinos Filis, the director of the Institute of Global Affairs at the American College of Greece, have both expressed reservations.
Their hesitation is compounded by resurfaced footage from a 2015 segment of Fox News’ “The Five,” in which Guilfoyle called Greeks “freeloaders” who needed to be punished, comparing the country’s debt crisis to a situation where nobody disciplines a dog that urinates on the rug.
During the White House ceremony, Trump also noted that he believed Greek citizens appreciated her work, though he offered no specific examples.
The president’s comment that he hoped she would return to the United States “in 12 years or whenever the term ends” struck some observers as peculiar, given that ambassadorships typically last only as long as the appointing administration remains in office.
The Greek Independence Day celebration was meant to commemorate Greece’s independence from the Ottoman Empire, an annual tradition at the White House. Instead, Trump’s remarks shifted focus to his personal relationship with the ambassador and raised fresh questions about the boundaries between family, politics and professional conduct in his administration.
