Trump loyalist tried—and failed—to land a gig in his messy Cabinet

Richard Grenell, a MAGA shitposter who served as ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence during Donald Trump’s first stint in office, appears to have launched a desperate influence campaign on his former boss, angling to get nominated as secretary of state, Politico reported on Thursday.

According to Politico's report, Grenell offered MAGA influencers "paid contracts of as much as five figures to post favorably about Grenell." One contract Politico obtained laid out the guidelines the influencers must follow, including that their favorable posts about Grenell must take place at “peak posting times,” "must appear genuine,” and not “appear as an overt advertisement or promotional message.”

Politico did not report the names of the influencers Grenell reached out to in his quest to be the nation’s top diplomat. But Ron Filipkowski, editor-in-chief of the liberal news outlet MeidasTouch, found people like expelled ex-Rep. George Santos, right-wing media personality Glenn Beck, and conspiracy theorist Mike Cernovich all tweeting favorable things about Grenell shortly after the election. 

It is unclear whether these accounts—or any—were paid for their pro-Grenell tweets. However, people like Santos are known for using their celebrity to make a buck. After his expulsion, Santos made hundreds of thousands making Cameo videos.