Ric Grenell's New Role as Special Envoy: Focus on Global Hotspots and America's National Security
This blog covers Ric Grenell's appointment as special missions envoy, focusing on global security challenges and his efforts to strengthen U.S. foreign policy.
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12/25/20245 min read


A Bold Announcement by President-elect Trump
It was a big announcement. Donald Trump, of course, making fast decisions, putting in people that he knows will support his mission. Appointing longtime foreign policy adviser, former Ambassador to Germany Ric Grenell to serve as his special missions envoy. In a recent social post, President-elect Trump talked about Ambassador Grenell, saying he'll work in some of the hottest spots around the world, including Venezuela and North Korea. Grenell will continue to fight for peace through strength and always put America first. A great announcement and a great patriot. He joins us now. Ric Grenell, good to see you. I haven't seen you here on the program since the announcement. So congratulations. It is wonderful news and I know you'll do a tremendous job.
Ric Grenell's New Role: A Global Focus
Well, thank you so much and Merry Christmas to you and Merry Christmas Eve to all the viewers. Thank you so much. We're going to talk about Pakistan today and then maybe get into a little of the other hotspots here, because there are things unfolding, and we have reason to believe that there could be some movement. And you're really a key player in all of this. Now, first off, Pakistan, according to the White House, is developing long-range missiles capable of hitting the U.S. Obviously, that's a huge concern, something the incoming administration will look at. We will get to some of your tweets in a moment. But how credible is this that Pakistan is doing this?
The Growing Threat from Pakistan’s Long-Range Missiles
Well, first of all, our future Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, is going to do an amazing job. He will have to deal with a lot of the countries around the world that have nuclear weapons. Obviously, if a country has nuclear weapons, it changes the position of how we deal with them. And so Pakistan is one of those countries that has nuclear weapons. We had a much better relationship with Pakistan during the Trump administration when Imran Khan was the leader of Pakistan. Imran Khan was an outsider, a former cricket player, and the captain of the Pakistani national cricket team. He wasn’t a politician and spoke in very common-sense language. He and Donald Trump had a very good relationship. I actually believe that having people from outside the political establishment, like businesspeople, are the ones that do best.
The Fight for Imran Khan’s Freedom
I do too. And so I'd like to see Imran Khan be released from jail. He's currently in prison, facing a lot of the same allegations as President Trump, where the ruling party put him in prison with corruption allegations that many believe are false. Imran Khan helped with peace talks with the Taliban during the Trump administration, trying to negotiate things. Then in August 2023, they threw him in prison. Some believe, including yourself, that this was to keep him from being in power.
The State Department, I know you tweeted about it. You have 12 million views. You said, "Free Imran Khan." The State Department is finally making some comments about it. Matthew Miller voiced concerns. You said, "You're late. This is too little, too weak." Americans are looking at this and seeing a government that’s authoritarian. Do you think Imran Khan could potentially be freed as a result of you bringing some awareness to it?
The State Department's Response: Too Little, Too Late
Look, I would say add Pakistan to the long list of subjects that Jake Sullivan and the Biden team have clearly decided to address at the very end, because they haven’t made progress in the last four years. There's a whole bunch of issues they are throwing out now, just to say, "Oh, we care about this issue," after ignoring it for four years. Pakistan is now one of them. In a very odd statement, the State Department said we shouldn’t be having judicial processes the way they do in Pakistan. What they really meant was, "Free Imran Khan." I just said, "Why don’t you just say it instead of pretending to care about all these processes? Just say what you mean, which is, let the guy out of prison who wants to run for office, and let the people decide."
North Korea, Venezuela, and Global Peace Initiatives
Well, they are masters of kind of word salads over there, and you don’t dance around the issues. That’s one thing that will be so vital in this new administration. Some of the places you'll be looking at are North Korea and Venezuela. First, to North Korea, they are helping Russia in the war in Ukraine. Donald Trump said a few days ago in Arizona that Putin is ready to meet as soon as possible. When you look at the type of progress we could see, how hopeful are you for this resolution and the work you'll be doing with North Korea to try to quell some of these conflicts that erupted under this administration?
North Korea’s Role in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Is anyone surprised? Joe Biden hasn’t spoken with Vladimir Putin in more than three years. They haven’t even spoken. Think about that. Donald Trump is someone who just believes that you should speak to people in order to try to calm the situation down. It’s very plain, very common-sense. Speaking to someone doesn’t mean that you’re caving into them. It means that you’re being very direct and defending America. That’s what Donald Trump does best. He will speak to anyone. And we saw that with Kim Jong Un, where Donald Trump went there, looked him in the eye, shook his hand, and said, “Look, this is what America expects.” People ultimately adjust their policies and actions according to strength, and Donald Trump is the greatest person for pushing out the America First strong messaging to everyone.
Yes, and even Xi Jinping has an invitation to the inauguration. You’re right. It’s about keeping channels open. When we look at Venezuela, some say what happened in Syria and the fall of Assad is a warning for Maduro. What do you foresee with your work in Venezuela as you're tasked with that hotspot?
You won’t be surprised that I’m going to hold back a little and talk to President Trump. We're just in the information-gathering stage right now, talking to a lot of people. Had a long conversation with President Trump about what he believes should be happening. So we’re going to continue gathering information, and on January 20th, when President Trump takes over, it’s going to be a glorious day. So many people around the world are waiting for that. We’ll begin to implement policies then, but not until then. Got it? Information gathering.
Unidentified Drones Over Sensitive Airbases
There wasn’t much released on the drones, and now there’s this disturbing story happening in the UK. Senior British officials are having secret meetings about unidentified drones flying over UK airbases, including U.S. Airbases. What's your biggest concern when we have drones flying over these sensitive airbases?
A New Era of Transparency and National Security
It’s crazy right now because there are all sorts of conspiracy theories. Everyone is coming up with a story. I would say, add this to the long list of things Avril Haines has not come clean on. She’s the director of national intelligence. She knows what’s going on, and yet she’s allowing this rumor mill to continue. She should come clean, tell us exactly what she knows, and put to rest the rumors. Yet, she’s been very quiet and secretive. Thank God, on January 20th, we’re going to change that. Tulsi Gabbard as DNI will be forthright, honest, and transparent, and we will make national security for the United States and Americans the top priority.
We know you’ll be at the forefront of it, and we hope to see you back here on the program regularly. Ambassador, and now special envoy Ric Grenell, a pleasure to have you.