Is This Why Kimberly Guilfoyle Was Absent From The Queen's State Dinner With Donald Trump?
Although Donald Trump made quite a few overseas trips in his official capacity as president during the four years he was the leader of the free world, his family didn't often get to travel with him. But one particular trip in 2019 gave the Trump kids a treat they probably never thought they'd have when their father was just a New York real estate developer and reality TV star on NBC's "The Apprentice."
The Trumps — and not just the family — were invited across the pond to England. Senior level staff would also get to make the trip and meet the queen herself. Former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham wrote about the adventure in her new book, "I'll Take Your Questions Now." She described the excitement of the staff and the demands of the Trump adult children, who apparently wanted to be treated like royalty themselves. According to Grisham, they all wanted a trip on Air Force One and a seat at the state dinner the queen planned to host. That's when things got a little dicey.
Donald Trump and his children travel to England
In an excerpt from "I'll Take Your Questions Now" that was published by TMZ, it wasn't just the Trump children that were coming along for the ride — they also wanted their significant others with them and to get the royal treatment. That included Tiffany Trump and her boyfriend, as well as Donald Trump Jr. and his girlfriend, former Fox News personality Kimberly Guilfoyle, who famously made a passionate and loud speech in which she was essentially yelling at the Republican National Convention in 2020 (via The New Yorker).
"All of them wanted seats at the state dinner the Queen would be hosting, as well as the dinner at Winfield House, the U.S. ambassador's residence, which would also be attended by Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall," Grisham wrote. "Of course, everyone began maneuvering almost immediately."
Apparently, Don Jr. wanting Guilfoyle there was the final straw for Lindsay Reynolds, Melania Trump's chief of staff at the time.
One senior staffer feared embarrassment from the Trumps
Stephanie Grisham wrote that Lindsay Reynolds immediately began maneuvering to keep the Trump kids off Air Force One and away from the queen's dinner.
"We are going to look like The Beverly Hillbillies," Reynolds said, according to Grisham's book, referring to the 1960s sitcom about a backwoods family that strikes it rich and moves to posh Beverly Hills. "We'll be an embarrassment to the whole country."
In the excerpt published by TMZ, Grisham wrote that Reynolds succeeded in her quest to keep the Trump kids off Air Force One, leaving the former president incredulous that they had to fly commercial, but the excerpt doesn't specify whether Kimberly Guilfoyle made it to the state dinner. A Washington Post report on who attended the June 2019 dinner does mention the Trump children and their spouses, but makes no mention of Kimberly Guilfoyle and Tiffany Trump's boyfriend as guests.