Ric Grenell, the 'son of a b***' of diplomacy who could be Trump's Secretary of State

With the war in Ukraine still raging and the Middle East consistently on the brink of implosion, Donald Trump will need a diplomat made of steel to be his Secretary of State.

He may have a self-described 'son of a b***' envoy at his disposal.

Ric Grenell has been a Trump loyalist for years and has fought many foreign policy battles by his side.

The 58-year-old was his Ambassador to Germany and has already been touted as head of the CIA or National Security Adviser.

Now the Michigan native could be the first openly-gay Secretary of State in Trump's second term.

In the last few months he has been on the frontlines of the campaign, helping the now-president-elect win over Arab-American Muslim voters furious at how the Biden-Harris administration has handled the war in Gaza. 

It's the sort of territory that helps his credentials when Trump is considering who he wants to represent the U.S. on the world stage - especially when so many countries have turned their nose up at him.

The 47th president is now in Mar-a-Lago building the team around him for his second stint in the White House. His first major move was appointing Susie Wiles as his chief of staff. 

Trump praised his 'guts' at the conclusion of his tumultuous tenure in Berlin, where relations when relations were tense. 

He has continued as part of Trump's inner circle. 

Trump referred to Grenell as his 'envoy' during his time out of the White House, as he turned up overseas and made contacts with foreign officials.

He with right wing officials in Guatemala to Eastern Europe. The Washington Post said he was acting as a sort of 'secretary of state' for Trump, noting in a headline that 'neither are in office.'

His globe-trotting has sparked deep concern among career national security officials and diplomats, who warn that he emboldens bad actors and jeopardizes U.S. interests in service of Trump's personal agenda,' the paper wrote. 

It said he had proposed a 2023 meeting in New York between Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

There is often a divide between national security types and people who do politics. 

Grenell has a foot in both camps.

He campaigned for Trump in battleground states, taking the stage in Grand Rapids at Trump's final rally. 

Trump has praised him as 'a fighter' during rally introductions, a high complement for Trump in a contest where his 'fight, fight, fight' mantra became a dominant theme.

'It's good to be home,' he told the crowd. 'I'm a Michigander. I play a Californian on TV, but I was born in Muskegon.'

'As my mom will tell you, we West siders always vote right' – referencing the Republican parts of the state – but if it wasn't for Detroit, he wouldn't be winning these elections.'

One GOP official noted he helped lead negotiations with Arab and Muslim officials in the state for Trump. 

Trump made a play for the traditionally Democratic voters amid fury over Israel's war in Gaza. 

He needed up carrying the state.

Grenell has a brash Twitter account where he takes on rivals in the media. At 2am after Election Day, about half an hour after posting about Trump's win, he wrote: 'Reporters need to ask themselves what they missed about Americans.' Then a few minutes later he wrote, 'Kamala not conceding is undermining our Democracy.' 

When the race was over, he posted his thanks to voters in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, along with pictures of himself meeting people on the campaign trail. 'Your stories have changed me. Your patriotism is inspiring,' he wrote.

When the 'End Wokeness' account posted the final results in Dearborn, Michigan – where Trump's outreach paid off – he reposted the response and wrote 'Yalla' in response, Arabic for 'let's go.' 

A May New York Times profile detailed his role in the 'war room' in Nevada during Trump's election overturn effort, where Grenell set himself up in the Venetian along with key staff.

The paper quoted unnamed operatives who told them to 'throw spaghetti on the wall' to distract the media from calling the state for Trump.

He has spoken about the role of secretary of state, prizing toughness in the role.

'If you want to avoid war, you better have a son of a b*** as the secretary of state,' he said on an episode of the current events podcast 'Self Centered.'

He said the nation needs a tough diplomat 'who goes in to these tables and says: 'Guys, if we don't solve this here, if we don't represent peace and figure out a tough way, I've got to take this file, go back to the United States and transfer it to the secretary of defense, who doesn't negotiate. He's going to bomb you.'

That is the same kind of rhetoric that Trump himself deploys – speaking regularly on the campaign trail about giving a warning to 'Abdul', a top Taliban official. As Trump sells it, he wanted the Taliban to stop firing on U.S. troops, and sent the official a picture of his house - an implied threat.

Grenell has some detractors.

When a reporter posted that he was under consideration for the top post at Langley, former FBI agent Asha Rangappa posted: 'God help us.'

Former Biden domestic policy advisor Susan Rice called him 'one of the most nasty, dishonest people I've ever encountered.'

When Trump first nominated, Senate Democrats held up his nomination for months, based in part on his Twitter battles. Deleted tweets that got him in hot water included saying Michelle Obama was 'sweating on the East Room carpet' with her workout regimen.

'The conversations I've had, it's like, hey, we're looking for people that are loyal to the president and his agenda,' said one former Trump administration official who said Grenell was in the mix.

Grenell has partnered with Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner on a hotel project in the Balkans.

In 2013 he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. His doctors successfully treated the disease with chemotherapy. 

He does have a soft spot. 

He brings his dog on the road, even on assignment. When he was stationed in Berlin, Grenell posted an image of his pooch wearing shades in front of an American flag.

'Happy 4th of July from Ambassador Grenell and his precious, patriotic dog, Lola,' he wrote.