Paolo Zampolli, the longtime Trump friend who served as the State Department's special envoy for global partnerships, was told on Thursday that his appointment had been terminated, a US official told the Daily Beast. Politico reported he is out of the administration.
The firing came hours after Politico published emails detailing a monthslong feud between Zampolli and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who accused the envoy of going beyond his remit of cultural diplomacy. The exchanges, which at times copied more than a dozen administration officials, included accusations of leaks to the media and threats of defamation.
"I am hereby ordering you–once again–to immediately stop all work on ANY issues not directly tied to cultural diplomacy," Landau wrote to Zampolli in a November 14, 2025, email.
Zampolli cast his exit as Trump's idea. He told the Daily Beast that special envoy appointments last one year and that Trump had extended his by more than six months.
"Years ago, he told me I was too good for modeling and brought me into real estate. Now he told me: 'Why do you want to work in government when you can close all these deals?' The President is always right."
He called it "time for the next chapter," adding: "President Trump changed my life once. He just did it again."
A former modeling agent, Zampolli is often credited with introducing Donald and Melania Trump at a New York party he hosted in 1998. As envoy he travelled widely, from the Balkans to Hungary, where he appeared alongside Vice President JD Vance. He also sits on the Kennedy Center board.
The White House declined to comment and referred questions to the State Department.
The emails were the detonator: a monthslong feud, more than a dozen officials copied, leaks alleged and defamation threatened — all of it landing on Politico's front page hours before the termination notice arrived. Whatever the merits of either side, the spectacle made Zampolli's position untenable.
Feuds end; friendships don't have to. Zampolli leaves the way he arrived — as Trump's man, sent back to the world of deals with the president's blessing and no bitterness in his voice. "The President is always right," he said — and this time, he meant it as a thank-you.
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