Greece bets big on MAGA, as other EU countries turn away from Trump

While the U.S. president’s relations with other European countries sour, he is hailing Greece as “terrific”

By NEKTARIA STAMOULI and ELIZA GKRITSI
in Athens

^{Photo-Illustration by Natália Delgado/POLITICO}

Nobody should be surprised that the U.S. ambassador to Athens is urging President Donald Trump to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence in the birthplace of democracy — with a speech on the Acropolis this summer.

While much of Europe is turning its back on Trump, Greece is conspicuously doubling down on the relationship with MAGA. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is playing up the role of “Greek thinkers” in inspiring America’s founding fathers, and is promising the U.S. president a warm welcome and a “good time” if he visits around the 1776 commemorative festivities.

U.S. Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle confirmed this week that Trump would visit Greece but declined to comment on the timing. She has been a leading proponent of his delivering a speech on the Acropolis — the temple citadel overlooking the capital — ever since her arrival in November. “We would all love that, wouldn’t we?” she said.

Trump is acknowledging the overtures from his allies in the Aegean. Just as his relationships with former EU allies such as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz are souring, he is praising Greece as “terrific” and Harvard-educated Mitsotakis as a “terrific guy.”

For Mitsotakis, a visit from Trump is about much more than optics. Greece’s government sees the United States — with its major naval base on Crete — as its ultimate security guarantor against invasion by Turkey, and wants to scupper the intermittent bromance between Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

That’s why Greece is also betting big on America in business deals, too, striking landmark energy contracts and securing major U.S. investments in ports.

These military and commercial ties between Washington and Athens are underpinned by an increasingly strong ideological alignment, too, as Mitsotakis’s conservative New Democracy party shifts further to the right.

This has meant New Democracy playing up its tough line on migration and MAGA-aligned themes such as Christianity, Greek civilization and European identity. High-profile New Democracy officials and Greek Trump admirers are seizing their moment, rubbing shoulders with the MAGA officials now regularly parading through Greece.

The Kimberly touch

Since her arrival late last year, Guilfoyle has attracted lavish media attention, with glossy photo shoots, appearances on television shows and glamorous galas.

The former Fox News host and prosecutor, who was once married to California Governor Gavin Newsom and dated Donald Trump Jr., has shown from the outset that she was going to emphasize strong economic ties.

During her first week in office, Greece signed an agreement with U.S. energy giant ExxonMobil to begin offshore drilling — the country’s first such project in more than 40 years — with U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright on hand.

Days later, Athens and Kyiv struck a deal to import U.S. liquefied natural gas to help Ukraine meet its winter needs, making Greece the first EU country to participate in Washington’s effort to replace “every last molecule of Russian gas” with American LNG.

In her first interview in Greece, she angered China, calling its ownership of the Port of Piraeus “unfortunate” and floated the idea that it could be “worked out” — suggesting a potential sale. Greece’s government quickly accelerated plans for a new U.S.-backed port in Elefsina, near Athens. The opposition denounced the move as opaque and politically motivated, while analysts said it was not financially or environmentally viable to create a new big port, just some 20 km away from Piraeus.

“Every day, when I wake up in the morning, I’m going to find a way to push American interests, money, infrastructure, to work with Greece and the rest of our allies in this region, and that means pushing back very aggressively against Chinese interests,” Guilfoyle said in a discussion earlier this year with journalist Matthew Boyle from right-wing platform Breitbart, who has become a regular in Greek panels over the past couple of years.

“I’m going to do that every single day, and I’m going to do it unapologetically,” she continued.

Crucially, she also described her close ties with government officials, noting that she has open discussions with Mitsotakis, seeing him three to four times a week. “I send him a message and we talk on the phone. He truly supports the U.S. and wants to prove it — he really does.”

She added that she also spoke daily with other ministers, who always responded to her requests.

“Sometimes he wasn’t able to speak because he was with other people,” she said of Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou. “I said: ‘I don’t care. You don’t need to speak. Just listen.'”

“Foreign Minister [Giorgos] Gerapetritis, Defense Minister [Nikos] Dendias, and [Shipping Minister] Vassilis Kikilias always answer the phone. It doesn’t matter if it’s the weekend; they come — if we meet at my house, they show up,” she added.

MAGA touchdown

The annual Delphi Economic Forum, a gathering of prominent figures from Greek business and politics, has become a prominent talking shop for MAGA figures and influencers.

Those who made the trip to the slopes of Mount Parnassus in late April included: U.S. Ambassador to the EU Andrew Puzder; Christos Marafatsos, the head of the “Greeks for Trump” lobby group; Alex Bruesewitz, Trump supporter and chief executive of X Strategies; James Carafano of The Heritage Foundation; Paul Dans, architect of Project 2025; and Scott Atlas, Trump’s adviser on the Coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s good to have the U.S. here to show what we’re doing and to make it clear that this is really the precursor to a battle between two superpowers: the United States and China. You have to pick a side,” Dans told POLITICO. “We have a great affinity for Greece. Greek Americans are certainly some of the most productive and cherished immigrants in America.”

Boyle from Breitbart also stressed the centrality of Greece to MAGA’s vision.

“Greece has emerged as one of the United States’ biggest allies in President Trump’s second term,” he said. “They’ve really embraced what the president is trying to achieve worldwide.”

In a panel discussion in Delphi, the attendees took turns to praise the president and his decisions on pretty much everything, from Iran to tariffs. Guilfoyle listened attentively and smiled broadly from the front row of the audience.

Mending ties

Mitsotakis has always backed strong ties between the U.S. and Greece and, following his election in 2019, the importance of the American foothold in Greece has grown. The government granted the U.S. open-ended access to four pivotal military facilities, and U.S. corporate giants like Pfizer and Microsoft have established Greece as a regional hub.

In 2022, Mitsotakis became the first Greek leader to deliver a historic address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress. He was enthusiastically applauded by the then U.S. Vice President, Kamala Harris, and he was subsequently considered a strong supporter of her candidacy.

When Trump was elected, that perceived proximity to Harris was suddenly considered to be a vulnerability.

Greece’s smaller far-right parties, which are gaining traction, criticized Mitsotakis, accusing him of following too many “woke” policies and of being “unwanted” by Trump. They raised particular concern that Mitsotakis’ miscalculation would make it hard to pull Trump back from his views of Erdoğan as “fantastic” and a “great leader.”

That meant the Greek conservative camp had to scramble to fall into step with Trump, launching its own MAGA-style offensive. Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis, whom the opposition has dubbed a “wannabe Trump” or “Trump impersonator,” has repeatedly praised the U.S. president’s policies and said he would “vote for him with both hands.”

Several other New Democracy ministers also celebrated Trump’s election victory. Migration Minister Thanos Plevris said: “U.S. voters cast their ballots based on economic concerns and in opposition to illegal immigration as well as the ‘woke’ agenda.”

Member of Parliament Makis Voridis was even more sweeping, announcing: “Everything right-wing is good.”

Mitsotakis himself has also been eager to show support for Trump. Following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Mitsotakis praised the raid on Caracas, saying: “The end of his regime offers new hope for the country.”

“This is not the time to comment on the legality of the recent actions,” he added.

The opposition strongly criticized what they called “servile obedience” to Trump.

But it seems that the prime minister’s quick pivot to Trump is paying dividends, particularly if Trump does visit.

In a recent interview with Breitbart, Mitsotakis promised to make him feel at home.

“Greeks very much take pride in our hospitality,” he said.