President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he is nominating Matthew Whitaker, former acting attorney general, to serve as U.S. ambassador to NATO. He announced that Whitaker would strengthen relations with allies, but would put America first.
“Matt is a strong warrior and a loyal patriot who will ensure that the interests of the United States are promoted and defended. Matt will strengthen relationships with our NATO allies and will steadfastly confront threats to peace and stability – he will put America first,” he said in a statement president elect
“I look forward to working closely with him as we continue to promote peace through strength, freedom and prosperity around the world,” he added.
Who is Matthew Whitaker
Whitaker is a lawyer and former federal prosecutor who served as acting attorney general for four months during Trump's first presidency. From then on, he was considered one of Trump's close associates. He belonged to America First Legal, an organization founded by Stephen Miller, a close Trump adviser, whose goal was to challenge the president's decisions to the courts. Joe Biden.
Matthew Whitaker will be the new US ambassador to NATOMichael Ciaglo/Getty Images
Trump's nominee has no diplomatic or security experience, but he has spoken on these issues, including: on Fox News. In March 2022, he supported the granting of rights on the air of a right-wing station Ukraine decisive military assistance and said that if Russia is not stopped, Putin's next victim may be Poland.
As the former ambassador said on CNN USA in Ukraine John Herbst, nomination for the position of ambassador at NATO people with no experience in security policy is not unprecedented, but more experienced diplomats have been sent to Brussels in recent decades. He noted, however, that Whitaker's close relationship with the president-elect may be an advantage in his work.
Main photo source: Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images