‘What Is She Doing Grabbing Him?’: Rubio Tries to Keep His Distance During Greece Welcome, Then Gets Caught In One Woman’s Over-the-Top Greeting
Secretary of State Marco Rubio touched down in Athens, Greece, Tuesday night, expecting two days of photo-ops and high-stakes diplomacy.
But things took an awkward turn before he even got off the tarmac. Instead, one moment on the tarmac had people online wondering what exactly they had just watched.
An over-the-top welcome from a familiar face in President Donald Trump’s world left the moment impossible to ignore.
The welcome came from a former Fox News host who once seemed headed for a permanent seat at the family table before a messy split and an awkward Mar-a-Lago comeback.
Judging by the footage, the woman who seemed a lot more excited to see Rubio than he was to see her was not his wife.
Rubio was in town to lead the U.S. delegation at the sixth round of the U.S.-Greece Strategic Dialogue, where the two allies hash out defense, trade, investment and energy cooperation.
Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr.’s ex-fiancée and the woman his father handpicked as America’s ambassador to Greece, waited for him at Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport alongside Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis.
In a short clip shared on X, her face lights up as Rubio approaches for a hug, then she throws her arms around his neck.
She pulls him into a hug, and at one point she cups the back of his head and leans her face in close to his, while a smiling Rubio appears to lean back to keep his distance.
Guilfoyle later posted photos of the moment herself on X, calling it an “honor” to welcome Rubio and claiming the U.S.-Greece partnership has never been stronger.
Not everyone saw it as strictly business, though.
“Will I get this type of welcome if I go to Greece?” one person asked. Another told the ambassador she seemed “overly excited with your hugs” and suggested she “consider a calmer way to do it.”
Another said, “Rubio’s wife should be alarmed. This ambassador is very ambitious. Look at the form of welcoming……this shows her plan.”
Others couldn’t separate the moment from the cloud hanging over her post. “You got some shady deals lined-up?” one skeptic asked. Another user wrote, “What is she doing grabbing onto him like that? And he’s trying to pull away. Gross. Tacky and disrespectful.”
Elsewhere, one person wasn’t holding back at all, writing, “You f— him….didn’t you. That’s why Don Jr. divorced you…right.”
That skepticism has less to do with the hug than with what followed her onto that tarmac. Last month, a Wall Street Journal investigation reported that Guilfoyle told guests at a March reception in Athens that the U.S. could undermine Greece’s government if it wanted to.
The paper also reported that she promoted the business interests of one Greek construction and energy company and let its lobbyist sit in on private diplomatic meetings. Guilfoyle has denied any wrongdoing.
Rep. Gregory Meeks and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrats on the House and Senate foreign affairs committees, have both opened probes into the claims.
Meeks sent Rubio a letter on Oct. 1 demanding answers, according to Greek Reporter. Rubio got ahead of the trip anyway, calling Guilfoyle “an incredibly effective advocate for the President’s agenda in Greece and across Europe” in a statement shared by the U.S. Embassy in Athens.
Pressed about the allegations at a joint news conference with Gerapetritis, Rubio dodged the mayhem.
He made his loyalty clear, stating he would not address the matter while visiting a foreign country. “Suffice it to say our embassy here is doing a great job,” he said. “Our ambassador has been a strong ambassador here.”
Guilfoyle is no stranger to raised eyebrows. Trump announced her as his pick for Greece in December 2024, right as Don Jr. went public with new girlfriend Bettina Anderson, with people joking that it looked like a convenient way to ship his son’s ex overseas.
Less than a year later, she was back in headlines after an interview in which she reflected on her romances with Don Jr. and her ex-husband, California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
For now, Rubio is standing firmly behind his ambassador, even if he didn’t seem eager to stand quite that close.
According to To Vima, it’s the first time a sitting secretary of state has personally led the American side since the talks began. Athens is the middle stop on a three-nation swing through NATO allies that started in Iceland and wraps up in Portugal, The Associated Press reported.
Rubio was also set to give a speech overlooking the Acropolis on Wednesday urging the West to return to its civilizational roots, while about 1,500 protesters rallied against his visit and the war in Iran.
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