An associate of Richard Grenell, the gay former ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence under former President Donald Trump, allegedly offered right-wing social media influencers up to five-figure sums after Trump’s re-election to make favorable posts suggesting Grenell as a good pick for secretary of state. The reported bid didn’t work, as Trump nominated Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) for the position.

Rick Loughery, former chair of the political youth association Young Republicans, allegedly contacted conservative influencers offering payments for positive posts about Grenell on X and Instagram.

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The contracts, revealed to Politico by two people who had knowledge of the effort, said that the influencers should post messages that “must appear genuine,” at “peak posting times” without appearing “as an overt advertisement or promotional message.” The influencers were also told to “engage in their comment section, quote tweet, share, add to stories and reply in relevant threads and posts.”

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The contract stated that the money was to be paid by the political consulting firm Magnify Media Partners LLC in several installments between November and January. The firm’s owner Taylor Strand said, “This project never moved forward, and Ric Grenell nor any other MAGA leaders were involved.” Strand didn’t respond to inquiries about the posts needing to speak positively about Grenell.

When asked about it by a Politco reporter, Grenell dismissed the journalist as an “unserious gossip reporter,” and added, “None of this is true.”

Nevertheless, Grenell reportedly mentioned his desire for the secretary of state position in private conversations over the last three years, the publication reported. Grenell was offered a role as director of national intelligence but turned it down. Sources have said he may still play an important role in the next administration.

Grenell helped campaign and raise funds for Trump’s re-election and was praised as a good possible secretary of state by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT).

During his time in the Trump administration, Grenell also served as a special envoy for Serbia-Kosovo relations and helped push the two countries to restore flights between their capitals. He also met with other foreign leaders to promote Trump’s policies.

However, sources told Politico that his business dealings in foreign countries and reputation as a “prickly” and “less than diplomatic” demeanor may have sunk his chances of getting the secretary of state job.

Trump’s administrative picks so far were seemingly selected based on who will be most loyal to his agenda, which includes gutting federal agencies and disrupting long-held norms of American governance and allyship. Trump is reportedly “turned off” by possible nominees who demonstrate inconsistency in their support, have issued past criticisms, have presidential ambitions, or show any hint of entitlement or sucking up for roles, multiple Trump advisers told Politico.

Although Grenell claimed in August 2020 that “President Trump is the most pro-gay president in American history,” nothing backs up that claim. During his time in the Trump administration, Grenell said he worked with Trump on a campaign to end the criminalization of homosexuality around the world, but the campaign seemingly accomplished nothing. Around the same time, Trump officials said it would violate “religious freedom” to pressure countries to repeal their anti-LGBTQ+ laws.

Since Trump’s re-election loss in 2020, Grenell has repeated Trump’s lie that the election was “stolen” due to an unprecedented nationwide conspiracy of voter fraud that only occurred in the states that Trump lost. He has also opposed the Equality Act – legislation that would provide federal LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination protections – claiming it would be an attack on religion.

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