Trump wins back support of former ambassador who previously disavowed him

Former President Donald Trump regained the support of an official from his administration who had denounced him following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Gordon Sondland, who served as Mr. Trump’s ambassador to the EU and later as a key witness against him in his first impeachment, blindsided MSNBC host Ari Melber on Wednesday when he announced the former president won back his support.

Mr. Sondland was asked if he stood by a prior disavowal of Mr. Trump after the events of Jan. 6, 2021.

“No, I don’t stand by it, and I’ll tell you why,” Mr. Sondland said. “I’ve now lived four years under the Biden-Harris policies, and I have to say that those policies are not only becoming an existential threat to our country’s way of life, but to our allies as well.”

The host interrupted him and asked, “I’m going to let you finish, but this is so striking. You said it was a ‘no for me’ after that, after Jan. 6. And here we are right now, and you’re saying it’s a ‘yes’ for you?”

“It is a ‘yes,’ for me. It is an absolute ‘yes’ for me,” Mr. Sondland responded. “That is how badly the Biden-Harris team have prosecuted their job.”

Mr. Sondland was part of a three-person panel of former Trump officials on the show, including White House adviser Peter Navarro and White House spokeswoman Sarah Matthews. He said that while Mr. Trump’s actions around Jan. 6 were not commendable, there are larger concerns facing the country presently.

Mr. Melber pressed Mr. Sondland, “But the whole point you seem to be making was that Jan. 6 and that kind of attack on democracy is bigger than any policy…”

Mr. Sondland replied, “I am seeing so many attacks on democracy that eclipse Jan. 6.

“Policy matters greatly, because policy translates into our way of life and the way our country operates,” he said.

During an October 2022 interview related to the release of his book, Mr. Sondland, a longtime GOP donor, said he hoped some of Mr. Trump’s policies became part of the next GOP presidential nominee’s platform. But he said he would not support Mr. Trump over his refusal to concede the 2020 election and his lack of any immediate effort to calm the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol during the congressional certification of electoral votes. 

“We are the most admired around the world for the way we turn over the keys to the next leader,” he said, pointing to past traditions like departing presidents attending their successors’ inaugurations. “And he [Mr. Trump] really f——- that up. I won’t support him.”

On the MSNBC panel, Mr. Navarro was asked why he still stood by Mr. Trump, given the obstacles he faced following his first term. 

Mr. Navarro, who served four months in federal prison for contempt of Congress for refusing to testify about Mr. Trump to the Democratic-led House Jan. 6 committee, said he “simply took a principled position.”

“I’m glad I did that, and if my case, as it reaches the Supreme Court, establishes the rules about executive privilege and the constitution and separation of powers, it was well worth it,” he said.

“Serving with Donald Trump, I saved a lot of lives during the pandemic, and I created a lot of jobs the two years before that, and I couldn’t be more proud of serving this country,” Mr. Navarro said.