U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle pressed a MAGA donor for $100,000 to pay American Express, according to a report.
The Wall Street Journal, citing text messages between Donald Trump Jr’s ex and Eric Deters, a Kentucky attorney and former congressional candidate, says she made the plea days before her confirmation hearing in July 2025.
Deters, 63, also a co-founder of the regional restaurant chain Snappy Tomato Pizza, had been looking to Guilfoyle for help resolving his tax and legal issues with the Internal Revenue Service, as well as on netting an appearance on Tucker Carlson’s podcast and on getting a song he wrote to Kid Rock, according to the Journal, which presented a series of images showing the alleged texts.
“Honey please I need you to get this done for me today,” she texted Deters via Signal on July 3, per the Journal, adding a praying emoji and a PDF containing payment instructions from Amex.
“You could just send it here. It won’t show up anywhere if you wire money to American Express that’s all that will show. Please.”
“Your needing $100,000 urgent unfortunately is not going to work,” he reportedly replied. “I can’t do this without getting a divorce.”
“I’ve been calling you for over a week straight,” Guilfoyle answered. “You could be here meeting with Billy Long.”
Long had been appointed Commissioner for the IRS that June but was fired by President Donald Trump in August.
Deters declined to pay the money and told the Journal Guilfoyle had promised him that if he did, “I will be your Trump ride or die, forever and ever,” but, in the end, “never came through on anything.”
At several points in the exchanges cited by the Journal, she appeared to express concerns about a potential paper trail.
“Eric, I really wish you would stop papering all these things,” she said in one. “It’s really dangerous and not helpful to you or me while you could simply just call me on signal.”
“What a nightmare you’ll literally cost me my ambassadorship stop writing,” she added in another.
Jesse Binnall, a lawyer for Guilfoyle, told the newspaper the ambassador disputed the authenticity of the messages but did not offer specifics.
On a trip to Greece, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was aware of the Journal’s report but had no idea if it was true and said he would not address it.
“You guys walk around thinking that because some source told you something and you reported it, it’s the gospel,” he said at the foot of his plane as Guilfoyle, who was there to see him depart Greece, looked on.
“It’s not the gospel. It’s not the gospel for me. That’s not the way we do things.”
A U.S. Embassy official told the Journal: “Guilfoyle’s career in and out of public service is guided by deep and abiding values.
“She was fully vetted by the bipartisan Senate Foreign Relations Committee and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The ambassador remains committed to representing the American people with dedication and integrity.”
The Independent has reached out to Guilfoyle’s legal representation, the U.S. Embassy in Greece and the State Department for further comment.
Deters said he had first met Guilfoyle when he founded a Covid-era event in Kentucky called Freedom Fest and paid her $300,000 to speak alongside other members of the Trump family.
He also donated $125,000 to a pro-Trump PAC in 2022, according to Federal Election Commission records cited by the Journal.
