Richard Grenell, the longtime Trump ally and special presidential envoy, spoke with President Donald Trump this week about potentially running for governor of California.
Grenell, who also serves as the interim executive director of the Kennedy Center, said in an interview on “The Conversation” with Dasha Burns that he would “have to take a look” at vying for the top job in California if former Vice President Kamala Harris launches a bid of her own.
“I want to see if Kamala runs. If Kamala runs, I think there’s a whole bunch of Republicans who are going to have to take a look at it, not just me,” Grenell said in the interview, which was taped Thursday and scheduled to air in full on Sunday. “If she runs, it is going to make me have to take a look at it. Right now, I’m not running for governor.”
Grenell also said he had spoke this week with Trump about a run, but declined to share details about the conversation. Harris is expected to decide on whether to announce a run by the end of the summer.
Grenell, who has a home in the Los Angeles area, traveled with Trump earlier this year to survey wildfire damage. Trump has been sharply critical of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s response to the January wildfires and his handling of anti-immigration protests over the past week.
Trump has sent in hundreds of additional military personnel to Los Angeles, heightening tension between protesters and law enforcement. The president also called in the National Guard to Los Angeles against Newsom’s wishes, sparking a high-stakes legal battle.
Grenell told POLITICO he believes the Trump administration has more credibility than Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass — even with Democrats.
“I would say that there is zero confidence in Karen Bass and Gavin Newsom right now from Democrats,” he said. “When Donald Trump decided to send in law enforcement and send in the National Guard and send in the military, there are a lot of Democrats in California who said, ‘Thank God,’ because Karen Bass isn’t cut out to be a leader.”
Grenell previously considered a run for governor in California ahead of the 2021 vote to recall Newsom, which ultimately did not pass.
Grenell also weighed in on Trump’s visit to the Kennedy Center this week to take in a performance of “Les Misérables,” arguing that despite the mixed reaction Trump received, the Kennedy Center is now “much more tolerant.”
“I think we want people here who sit next to each other, who voted for somebody completely different for president,” Grenell said in the interview, which was taped at the Kennedy Center. “You could have somebody sitting next to a Trump supporter who also voted, somebody who voted, for, you know, Bernie Sanders. No one gets vocal and no one gets into an argument because we’re watching Les Mis. You know, that’s the whole idea of tolerance.”
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