Richard Grenell: Will he be Donald Trump’s new super agent?

“And what will become of me?” It is not known whether Richard Grenell, former US ambassador to Germany, repeatedly asked Donald Trump this question in recent weeks. In any case, Grenell was in discussion for just about every top foreign policy job in Trump’s new administration, State Department, CIA chief… but in the end those jobs went to other Trump loyalists. Now the 58-year-old finally gets his turn, and Trump did what you do when you don’t want to upset friends who didn’t get their turn right away: He invented the most bombastic job title possible.

Grenell becomes special envoy of the US President for special missions, Special missions. Trump left no doubt about how special these should be. “Ric” will work in “some of the hottest places in the world,” including North Korea, where Kim Jong-Un is known to be playing around with missiles. Does the new job include a license to kill? Should Grenell stop nuclear missiles himself in the future and possibly also mediate in Syria, Ukraine and Iran? Almost nothing is known about the job profile, nor about the resources.

The only thing that is certain is that there is a risk of a tussle with the CIA, Pentagon and State Department. But Trump, who loves the principle of “divide and conquer,” will be more pleased. And Grenell won’t let himself be pushed aside. He has the ear of the president, who calls him a “star” and says he wants to secure peace through strength. There is no doubt about Grenell’s loyalty, the most important hiring criterion. In his very own interpretation of diplomacy, he spent his time in Berlin cursing his host country and praising Trump.