<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed frustration with the media while departing Greece for Portugal, criticizing their requests for comments regarding an alleged investigation into Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Wall Street Journal published a report on October 7, 2026, claiming that Guilfoyle had enlisted a political ally to pay $100,000 in credit card debt before her appointment as ambassador to Greece, with promises to connect the benefactor to political officials. A subsequent report from the Daily Mail indicated that the Department of State Office of Inspector General is investigating Guilfoyle for workplace conduct.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Rubio dismissed questions about these reports on October 8, 2026, as he prepared to travel from Greece to Portugal, characterizing the media's inquiries as a “game” aimed at generating headlines.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“You guys are gonna ask me this, you’re gonna ask me again in Portugal. I know the game. The game is — someone gives information to a newspaper or media outlet, the media outlet reports it, you immediately turn to me and say, ‘I need you to respond to our reporting.’ That’s not the way this process works,” he stated to the press pool.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img alt="Rubio Guilfoyle" class="wp-image-4759759" height="682" src="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AP26281218616392.jpg?w=696" width="1024" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, center, and U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle stand at Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport near Athens, Greece, before Rubio boards a plane, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)</figcaption></figure>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Rubio acknowledged awareness of the Wall Street Journal report but stated he did not know whether the allegations were true, emphasizing that he would not address the matter through the media.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I don’t even know if it’s true or not true, so it’s just not going to work that way and it’s most certainly not going to work that way while I’m sitting in another country,” Rubio remarked. “You guys are not going to be our only source of information in the world.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">He added, “You guys walk around thinking that because some source told you something and you reported it, it’s the gospel. It’s not the gospel. It’s not the gospel for me. That’s not the way we do things.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The allegations against Guilfoyle suggest she contacted Eric Deters, a wealthy donor of President Donald Trump, requesting a direct wire of funds to American Express to settle her debt prior to becoming ambassador.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Honey please I need you to get this done for me today,” she reportedly wrote in one message. In another, she instructed him: “It won’t show up anywhere if you wire money to American Express.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Deters confirmed the exchange of messages in interviews, stating: “Kimberly Guilfoyle is a grifter. Kimberly Guilfoyle — I have no doubt — has done this to more than me. She’s doing it right now in Greece.”</p>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img alt="Rubio Guilfoyle" class="wp-image-4759758" height="682" src="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AP26280273450159.jpg?w=696" width="1024" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during the opening Session of the U.S.-Greece Strategic Dialogue next to U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Athens, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)</figcaption></figure>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Guilfoyle, 57, was appointed as ambassador to Greece shortly after ending her engagement to Donald Trump Jr. in 2024. She previously worked as a Fox News host and prosecutor in California and was married to Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) in the early 2000s.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Rubio praised Guilfoyle during a press conference with the Greek foreign minister, stating that the “embassy here is doing a great job” and that “our ambassador has been a strong ambassador here.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Rubio concluded his multiday visit to Greece, which included a speech framed by the Acropolis, and later met with Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel for a joint press conference, commending the Portuguese government for its military modernization efforts and actions against narco-terrorism globally.</p>