Photo via ABC News (AU)

White House asks US envoy in Athens to resign, new press secretary says

Read the original at ABC News (AU) ↗
Cite

White House asks US envoy in Athens to resign, new press secretary says. (2026, October 13). ABC News (AU). https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-14/white-house-first-press-briefing-zacharia-guilfoyle/107262814

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

ABC News (AU) · collected 2026-10-13

Quick Summary

The White House has requested that US Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle resign due to allegations of improper conduct, including asking a Trump donor to pay off a $143,000 credit card balance. This announcement came during the first press briefing of new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia, who briefly addressed the controversy without taking extensive questions from reporters.
Written by AI on 2026-10-13, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Kimberly Guilfoyle was forced to resign as U.S. Ambassador to Greece on October 13, 2026, amid allegations of corruption and misconduct. The Wall Street Journal had previously reported that Guilfoyle sought help from a political ally, Eric Deters, to pay off a $100,000 American Express credit card bill before her confirmation hearing as ambassador, allegedly offering connections with political officials in return.

Guilfoyle's departure was marked by the Greek president refusing her a traditional farewell ceremony due to the scandal surrounding her tenure. This decision highlighted the negative impact of the allegations on her professional reputation and public image.

In addition to losing her diplomatic position, Guilfoyle faced criticism from former associates within the Trump family. President Donald Trump publicly distanced himself from her, stating she was "never family," despite her engagement to his son Donald Jr. Other members of the Trump inner circle, including Melania Trump, Ivanka Trump, Tiffany Trump, and Lara Trump (now married to Donald Jr.), also maintained a cold or distant stance towards Guilfoyle following her ousting.

Guilfoyle's abrupt departure from her post marks one of the shortest tenures for an ambassador in recent history, with the incident overshadowed only by Katie Zacharia's brief stint as White House Press Secretary. Despite the allegations against her, Guilfoyle defended herself on social media, stating that the accusations were false and expressing gratitude to President Trump for the opportunity she had been given.

Written for “Trump Weighs Firing Kimberly Guilfoyle” on 2026-11-05, grounded in this article and the 46 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Trump Weighs Firing Kimberly Guilfoyle
Politics · 47 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 11% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
White House has asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign: White House press secretary Same event
ABC News (US)
Hedges 1 of 7 claims Outlet record 67/100
White House asks Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign as U.S. ambassador to Greece Same event
NBC News
Hedges 1 of 29 claims Outlet record 78/100
Trump asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign: Katie Zacharia Same event
Washington Examiner
Hedges 2 of 6 claims Outlet record 69/100
White House says US ambassador to Greece Guilfoyle asked to resign Same event
The Straits Times
Hedges 1 of 6 claims Outlet record 66/100
Kimberly Guilfoyle resigns from ambassadorship amid influence-peddling scandal Same event
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 9 claims Outlet record 69/100
Kimberly Guilfoyle asked to resign as ambassador after reports she asked Trump donor to pay bill Same event
The Guardian
Hedges 2 of 12 claims Outlet record 66/100
Katie Zacharia battles through nerves as she gives eight-minute monologue in first press briefing Same event
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 21 claims Outlet record 69/100
Guilfoyle has been asked to resign as ambassador to Greece Same event
CBS News
Hedges 0 of 8 claims Outlet record 65/100
Trump humiliatingly asks Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign as ambassador to Greece, Katie Zacharia reveals in first briefing Same event
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 66/100
Trump administration asks Don Jr's ex-girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign as US ambassador to Greece amid several complaints Same event
Times of India
Hedges 8 of 29 claims Outlet record 59/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
11%
2 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
67/100
ABC News (AU)'s corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
47
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-13 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

ABC News (AU) · 4934 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)
2026-11-03
Live: US midterms in sharp focus, oil price eases
2026-10-25
Live: Diamonds play Constellation Cup on home soil
2026-10-19
Elizabeth Struhs's mother trusted God would 'heal' 8yo, inquest hears
2026-10-17
Siblings with same rare birth defect can walk after donated care
2026-10-15
Sydney prison criticised for 'putrid' conditions returns to public hands
2026-10-15
Cost forces ACT government to scrap pledge to tag DV perpetrators
2026-10-15
Fraudsters avoid time behind bars
2026-10-15
Queensland jails will be at triple capacity under new bail laws, union warns
2026-10-07
Judge rules evidence from Christa Pike's botched execution be preserved
2026-09-15
Canberra man posed as teenage girl to obtain child abuse material
2026-09-07
'Her career's finished': Fugitive Sydney developer's daughter avoids jail

Who wrote this

No reporter is named on this article.

Topics

Athens Fox News Greece The White House White House

Subjects

Guilfoyle PERSON · 7× Trump PERSON · 5× Zacharia PERSON · 3× Deters PERSON · 2× Greece GPE · 2× Katie Zacharia PERSON · 2× Kimberly Guilfoyle PERSON · 2× White House ORG · 2× Athens GPE · 1× The White House ORG · 1×

Narrative

Allegations mount against Guilfoyle In a series of stories dating to late last month, The Wall Street Journal has reported questionable conduct by Ms Guilfoyle, including an alleged threat to a host country official, accepting improper gifts and services and offering to use her influence inside the administration in return for the payment of a large credit card bill.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-13
🔮 In her first appearance in the White House briefing room, Ms Zacharia said Ms Guilfoyle "has been a wonderful asset to the team, and we wish her well".
2026-10-13 · ABC News (AU)
White House asks US envoy in Athens to resign, new press secretary says · assertive framing

Claims (18 extracted, 2 hedged)

In short: The White House has asked the US Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign. asserted
House → ask → Greece
The announcement was made during the first appearance of new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia. asserted
announcement → make → Zacharia
Ms Guilfoyle had been under pressure over allegations she asked a Trump donor to pay off a $143,000 credit card balance. asserted
she → ask → balance
The new White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia, has used her first press briefing to announce that the US ambassador to Greece has been asked to resign. asserted
ambassador → use → Greece
Kimberly Guilfoyle has been at the centre of a growing controversy in recent weeks over allegations of improper and possibly illegal conduct before and during her tenure in Athens. uncertain
Guilfoyle → grow → Athens
US President Donald Trump had previously told the media he was "not happy" with the allegations and that his administration was "looking at it". asserted
administration → tell → it
Ms Guilfoyle previously worked at US cable network Fox News and dated Mr Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr, as well as California Governor Gavin Newsom. asserted
Guilfoyle → work → son
In her first appearance in the White House briefing room, Ms Zacharia said Ms Guilfoyle "has been a wonderful asset to the team, and we wish her well". asserted
we → say → her
Ms Zacharia was appointed press secretary earlier this year after Karoline Leavitt resigned, citing a wish to spend more time with her family. asserted
Leavitt → appoint → family
Ms Zacharia's appearance at the lectern was brief, with her taking only three questions from reporters and saying that Mr Trump was "his own best spokesperson". asserted
Trump → take → reporters
Allegations mount against Guilfoyle In a series of stories dating to late last month, The Wall Street Journal has reported questionable conduct by Ms Guilfoyle, including an alleged threat to a host country official, accepting improper gifts and services and offering to use her influence inside the administration in return for the payment of a large credit card bill. asserted
Journal → mount → bill
The newspaper reported that she asked Eric Deters, an influential Trump supporter, to pay off $US100,000 ($143,000) in personal credit card debt shortly before her Senate confirmation hearing in July 2025. asserted
she → report → July
"Honey please I need you to get this done for me today," she wrote to Mr Deters in a message accompanied by instructions for paying her credit card company, according to the Journal, which published screenshots of the exchanges. uncertain
which → need → exchanges
Mr Deters refused to make the payment, telling the newspaper that doing so would have cost him his marriage. asserted
doing → refuse → marriage
Ms Guilfoyle has not addressed the reports directly. asserted
Guilfoyle → address → reports
In a statement released late on Sunday, her lawyers denied she had done anything wrong and claimed that the money she was seeking from the Trump donor was payment for services, public appearances and speaking engagements that predate her ambassadorial nomination, that had not been paid. asserted
that → release → nomination
The lawyers, David Schwartz and Jesse Binnall, also rejected allegations of impropriety related to Ms Guilfoyle's travel on private planes. asserted
lawyers → reject → planes
They said before every such trip she "sought, obtained and followed State Department guidance and followed the department's travel regulations," they said. asserted
they → say → regulations
💬Give feedback · no sign-in needed

No sign-in needed for now. Your note is sent without a name, so it cannot be answered.

🕘History 🎫Support
Terms · Privacy · beta v2.0.0
Articles to 5 Nov 2026