Trump says Ric Grenell may be his UN ambassador — as he confirms plans for first foreign trip

WASHINGTON — President Trump said Monday that he may pick Ric Grenell to be United Nations ambassador — as he confirmed plans for what would be the first foreign trip of his second term with stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Trump withdrew Rep. Elise Stafanik’s nomination to serve in the role Friday, citing concern about her upstate New York seat falling to Democrats in a special election.

“We have a lot of people that have asked about it, and we like to do it — [former ambassador to Israel] David Friedman, Ric Grenell and maybe 30 other people,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

“Everyone loves that position. That’s a star-making position. And so we’ll see what happens.”

Grenell claimed last week to Newsmax that he was a “hard no” on seeking the role.

“This is not something that I want to do. I’ve got plenty to do,” said Grenell, who served as ambassador to Germany during Trump’s first term, using that role to force the suspension of construction on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea.

Grenell, who currently holds an amorphous portfolio as Trump’s envoy for special missions, is known for aggressively backing Trump and bashing his political enemies.

In Trump’s first term he also brokered a diplomatic deal between Serbia and Kosovo and became America’s first openly gay cabinet-level official as acting director of national intelligence.

Since Trump reclaimed power, Grenell has served as executive director of the Kennedy Center in Washington and as the president’s point person for rebuilding wildfire-ravaged Los Angeles and on negotiating a prisoner release with Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro.

Trump’s upcoming trip to the Middle East could happen as soon as May, he said, and will feature a stop in Saudi Arabia in recognition of “close to $1 trillion” in recent investment pledges by the country in the US. He said Qatar, the UAE and potentially other countries would be included as destinations.