Foreign diplomats 'raise eyebrows' at Trump’s blatant appointment of 'MAGA disciples'

Donald Trump's appointment of "MAGA disciples" to key diplomatic roles in Europe has led many to "raise eyebrows" at the blatant disregard for experience, with one source telling The Guardian it shows "total contempt for human dignity."

Political appointees such as ambassadors, as The Guardian's report explained, have often been "a euphemism for big supporters and donors," even before the Trump era, when the practice got supercharged by his favoritism towards his biggest loyalists. Sources speaking to the outlet say that his latest round of diplomatic postings has "never been quite this blatant."

"[The appointees are] basically all relatives, close friends or big [donors]," one European Union diplomat said, under the promise of anonymity. “That’s always been the US tradition, but it’s never been quite this blatant. These are like MAGA disciples.”

Under Trump, Charles Kushner -- the father-in-law of his daughter Ivanka, and a businessman once convicted of tax evasion, making false statements and witness tampering -- was appointed ambassador to France.

“He’s here to do a job, and from Washington’s standpoint he’s doing it pretty well,” a source at the Quai d’Orsay, France’s foreign ministry, told the outlet about Kushner's appointment. “He’s close to Trump. They go back a long way. He’s not going to be questioning his remit.”

Elsewhere on the continent, he has appointed his former daughter-in-law Kimberly Guilfoyle ambassador to Greece, former fast food franchisee CEO Andrew Puzder as ambassador to the EU, prominent GOP donor and Broadway producer Stacy Feinberg as ambassador to Luxembourg, and Tilman Fertitta, a hotel magnate and co-owner of the Houston Rockets, as the ambassador to Italy.

"Many are multimillionaires, some billionaires," The Guardian's report explained. "Together, they have poured tens of millions of dollars into the MAGA coffers. Nearly all have sung the president’s praises long and loud. Almost none have any kind of diplomatic experience at all."

While some sources were somewhat delicate in their estimations of this new diplomatic crop, former French envoy to the US Gérard Araud was notably blunt in his assessment.

"The craziness of these nominations reflects a total contempt for human dignity, custom, and the law," Araud said. "Only whim matters."