Muslim supporters of US President-Elect Donald Trump are urging the former and future president to choose former US Ambassador to Germany Ric Grenell as his Secretary of State, the New York Post reported.
This is noteworthy as Ambassador Grenell is openly gay and an outspoken supporter of Israel.
In their letter to Trump and Susie Wiles, Trump's choice for White House Chief of Staff, a group called Muslims and Middle Eastern Americans for Trump praised Grenell for his outreach efforts to the American Muslim community.
The letter stated that Grenell's “dedicated outreach to our communities won over many Muslim and Arab voters and helped flip key precincts that were once reliably Democrat.”
It continued, "The deployment of Ambassador Richard Grenell and his dedication to engaging our communities to vote for you was a challenging mission — one few could have undertaken with such tenacity and skill."
Grenell also served as former Acting Director of National Intelligence in addition to being America's Ambassador to Germany under the first Trump Administration.
In the immediate aftermath of the October 7 massacre committed by the Hamas terrorist organization, Amb. Grenell criticized Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for not mentioning Israel by name in her statement condemning the massacre.
Grennel said the post was "pathetic" and asked why Whitmer would not express support for Israel. "This is a pathetic statement," he wrote. "Why can’t you say you support Israel? This is the Left in America. Wise up."
In another reply, Grenell said to the governor, "This could be about Hawaii. You have terrible instincts."
In an interview with Al Arabiya in September, Grenell criticized Trump's Democratic opponent in last week's presidential election for calling for a ceasefire when "people want peace [and] they know that Donald Trump delivered peace."
Ambassador Grenell has long been considered a leading candidate for Trump's Secretary of State, and the President-Elect has praised the former ambassador and hinted he will be given a position related to national security in his second administration.