Trump fanatic Richard Grenell plots return to politics ‘with run for California governor’
Former Trump official Richard Grenell (Getty/ARMEND NIMANI)
Former Trump official Richard Grenell is reportedly considering a run to become governor of California.
Republicans are currently pushing a recall effort in a bid to remove the state’s Democratic governor Gavin Newsom, which could trigger a ballot on replacing the official.
The move, which comes amid rising anger from conservatives over coronavirus restrictions in the state, has sparked inevitable jockeying over who should be put forward to replace him.
One figure who is reportedly interested is Richard Grenell, an out-of-work Trump loyalist who had controversial postings as ambassador to Germany and interim director of national intelligence under the twice-impeached former president.
Richard Grenell hints at California bid with attack on Gavin Newsom.
Politico reports that Grenell, one of the few openly gay figures associated with the Trump White House, is planning to announce a campaign if the recall effort qualifies for the ballot.
As the effort gathers steam, Grenell has penned an op-ed for Fox News pressing the odd argument that Newsom has taken wildly unpopular actions to clamp down on coronavirus due to the “selfish ambitions of a career politician”.
Former Trump advisor Richard Grenell (Getty/Chip Somodevilla)
Grenell is said to be courting conservative donors in the state, though he denied suggestions he is already interviewing campaign strategists to lay the groundwork for a run.
It is unclear why the obedient Trump fanatic believes he would appeal to voters in the solidly-Democratic state, where Donald Trump attracted only a third of the vote in the 2020 presidential race.
However, Republican operative Carl DeMaio told Politico that Grenell’s association to Trump would “get the base to show up” in the race, adding that he “would have more name ID than the other names being considered”.
‘Gaslight Grenell’ was in charge of Trump LGBT+ voter outreach.
Richard Grenell held a disastrous role ahead of the 2020 election as the head of LGBT+ voter outreach, earning the moniker “Gaslight Grenell” due to his willingness to obfuscate anti-LGBT+ actions taken under the Trump administration.
After the election, Grenell was involved in efforts to overturn the result.
One figure who is definitely not running, meanwhile, is Caitlyn Jenner. The ex-Olympian and former I Am Cait star made clear she had no interest in the vacancy, after rumours she was preparing a bid.
Her manager and partner Sophia Hutchins made clear: “Caitlyn is not running for governor, has never considered running for governor and is very happy doing the work that she is doing to promote LGBT rights and spending time with her 18 grandchildren and 10 children.”
