Ambassador to Greece nominee Kimberly Guilfoyle appeared to be doing serious damage control during a Thursday interview with Greek magnate John Catsimatidis following a report that she called Greeks “freeloaders.”
Guilfoyle, who has been MAGA’s resident “mamacita” in chief until things cooled with fiancé Donald Trump Jr., made the comment when she was a co-host on Fox News’ The Five in 2015.
The topic was Greek government’s debt bailout package from the European Union, which the country voted to reject, and led Guilfoyle to rant about Greeks being lazy.
“You guys are retiring too early… And that’s part of the problem. You have, like, politicians making out-of-control promises, buying votes with entitlements that they can’t support,” she said, adding, “It doesn’t matter if you made great yogurt. I don’t care.”
Like when a ”dog pees on the rug,” Guilfoyle said Greeks needed to be trained.
However, Guilfoyle, 55, played a different tune for Catsimatidis, 76, who is worth an estimated $4.5 billion as the president, CEO, and chairman of chairman of NYC’s Gristedes and D’Agostino supermarket chains and other real estate and aviation ventures. Catsimatidis is also considered somewhat of a hero in Greece, even reportedly being asked to run for president.
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”I just want to say, one of the reasons why I was so thrilled and really wanted to serve as an ambassador to Greece is because of my great love and admiration for you, for your family, for the incredible country of Greece,” said Guilfoyle, before showering Catsimatidis with more platitudes. “You are beloved there, you are such an iconic Greek-American businessman and really an entrepreneur, and someone living the American dream and you’re such an inspiration to so many and a very close friend to the president.”
Guilfoyle then asked what Catsimatidis thought of President-elect Donald Trump’s appearance at the stock exchange.
“I think the way he spoke today is the way America would like to hear it. He talked about cutting taxes. He talked about working on bringing down the price of oil,” said Catsimatidis—who then launched into a diatribe about Biden, the increased price of oil and gas, groceries, and being surprised that Vice President Kamala Harris received “any votes at all” given high inflation rates.
Catsimatidis spoke about how hard his family has worked, to which Guilfoyle co-signed with: “Oh, you’re family is very hard working,” shaking her head as a show of earnestness. “All of the above.”
After bonding of over their respective “immigrant backgrounds”—with Guilfoyle born to a “first generation” Puerto Rican mother and an Irish father, and talking about Catsimatidis offer to be Greece’s president—she showered Catsimatidis and Greece with more praise.
“Fun fact, every year on my birthday, I always want to have Greek food,” she claimed. “I love, like, lamb. I love the Greek honey, the yogurt, and everything all combined.”
During her time in San Francisco, Guilfoyle said she used to go to a “fabulous” Greek restaurant that she and Catsimatidis called Kokkari.
”Is that the one owned by our friend Marcus?” asked Catsimatidis.
”Yes, exactly!,” said Guilfoyle, before giving Catsimatidis a send off. “Look at this screen right here,” she said pointing to herself, “future ambassador to Greece and let’s get him his presidency.”
Although Don Jr. has neither confirmed nor denied that he and Guilfoyle are over, after being spotted with socialite Bettina Anderson, he said he was “proud” of Guilfoyle’s ambassador nomination.
“She loves America and she has always wanted to serve the country as an Ambassador,” Don Jr. wrote on X.
The Daily Beast contacted Kokkari for comment but did not receive a reply.