The Daily Mail this week published1 a striking portrait of Richard Grenell, the former acting director of national intelligence and once a central foreign policy figure in Donald Trump’s first administration. The headline was blunt. It described a downfall, an exile to a construction job, and an implosion driven by ego, feud, and internal humiliation.
For readers in Washington, it was a story about factional warfare inside Trump world. For readers in the Balkans, where Grenell has played a consequential role, it was something more. It was a signal.
According to the Daily Mail, Grenell, who once rose through the ranks of Trump’s movement and briefly led the United States intelligence community in 2020, now finds himself running the Kennedy Center as it prepares for a two year closure and major reconstruction. The paper reports that President Trump announced plans to shutter the institution for a massive overhaul, leaving Grenell presiding over what one source described as a venue in turm…
