Frankfurt (Germany), 17 Oct. (LaPresse) – “People aren’t just leaving the Trump administration; they’re fleeing.” This is what Paolo Zampolli, a diplomat and former special envoy to US President Donald Trump for global partnerships, said in an interview with *la Repubblica*, commenting on the exodus from the administration ahead of the mid-term elections. When asked whether officials fear an electoral defeat, Zampolli replied: “Of course, everyone is leaving. Not just leaving – fleeing.” Zampolli, who has known Trump for many years and introduced him to his future wife Melania, attributes the end of his tenure to disagreements with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, whom he suspects was behind the leak of internal emails published by Politico. “The president hates leaks,” he says, recounting that Trump reportedly told him: “Your job at the State Department is over; why don’t you go into business, seeing as you’re capable? At least you’ll earn something.” The former special envoy also rejects accusations that he overstepped his remit, including in relation to a mission to Republika Srpska in Bosnia. As for his relations with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and League leader Matteo Salvini, he describes them as “extremely cordial”, adding: “I am not their point of contact for America. I never have been and I didn’t want to be.” On the breakfast meeting last March with Five Star Movement leader Giuseppe Conte, he explains that they briefly discussed a property deal: “I had a buyer. That was the end of it.” Finally, when asked whether he might have any confidential information to reveal about the Trump administration, he replies: “The information comes out on its own.”
US, Zampolli: “Dumped by Trump? Everyone’s running away as the vote approaches”
Frankfurt (Germany), 17 Oct. (LaPresse) – “People aren’t just leaving the Trump administration; they’re fleeing.” This is what Paolo Zampolli, a diplomat and former special envoy to US President Donald Trump for global partnerships, said in an interview with *la Repubblica*, commenting on the exodus from the administration ahead of the mid-term elections. When asked whether officials fear an electoral defeat, Zampolli replied: “Of course, everyone is leaving. Not just leaving – fleeing.” Zampolli, who has known Trump for many years and introduced him to his future wife Melania, attributes the end of his tenure to disagreements with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, whom he suspects was behind the leak of internal emails published by Politico. “The president hates leaks,” he says, recounting that Trump reportedly told him: “Your job at the State Department is over; why don’t you go into business, seeing as you’re capable? At least you’ll earn something.” The former special envoy also rejects accusations that he overstepped his remit, including in relation to a mission to Republika Srpska in Bosnia. As for his relations with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and League leader Matteo Salvini, he describes them as “extremely cordial”, adding: “I am not their point of contact for America. I never have been and I didn’t want to be.” On the breakfast meeting last March with Five Star Movement leader Giuseppe Conte, he explains that they briefly discussed a property deal: “I had a buyer. That was the end of it.” Finally, when asked whether he might have any confidential information to reveal about the Trump administration, he replies: “The information comes out on its own.”