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THE VIEW FROM GREECE

‘The View’ Star Announces Run to Replace Kimberly Guilfoyle

She threw some shade at Guilfoyle in the process.

Debbie Matenopoulos, a former star of The View, has publicly announced her bid to replace the former U.S. ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle.

Matenopoulos, who rose to television fame as the youngest co-host on The View, said she has more than enough qualifications to take Guilfoyle’s place. The 51-year-old Greek-American launched her informal campaign with a three-minute-long Instagram video.

She posted the clip “in the wake of Kimberly Guilfoyle resigning,” wearing a white T-shirt with the word “Greece” and the country’s flag.

@iamdebbiem

“This is my plea to the president and to the Senate," the TV personality said.

Instagram/@iamdebbiem

“I understand the politics, the government, the people. I have many connections, and I love the country,” she proclaimed, adding that she speaks Greek, holds a Greek passport, owns homes in Greece, and has her entire extended family living there.

She also listed her “two very successful, best-selling Greek cookbooks” and “very successful Greek skincare line.”

Matenopoulos said that she believes the United States and Greece can have “even better relations” than the two countries currently have.

Matenopoulos’ political affiliation is unclear.

The bid comes just days after Guilfoyle, 57, resigned on Tuesday amid an embarrassing scandal that shook the Trump administration. Guilfoyle, a MAGA stalwart and the former fiancée of Donald Trump Jr., was caught begging a donor to pay off a $100,000 credit card bill in exchange for favors.

FILE PHOTO: Incoming U.S. Ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle presents her credentials to the Greek president (not pictured) at the Presidential Palace in Athens, Greece, November 4, 2025.  REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki/File Photo

Kimberly Guilfoyle denied all allegations against her.

Louisa Gouliamaki/REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki

Guilfoyle said that serving as the ambassador to Greece was “the honor of a lifetime.”

“While my time as Ambassador may be coming to an end, my commitment to President Trump, the America First movement, and the country I love will never end,” she wrote.

She also denied all allegations against her in a lengthy statement on X. “I have dedicated my professional life to fighting for justice, standing up for what is right, and defending the values that make America exceptional,” Guilfoyle wrote. “I will not allow false accusations to define my decades of public service.”

Matenopoulos also threw some shade at Guilfoyle in her campaign.

“No disrespect to Ms. Kim Guilfoyle,” she said, “She wasn’t a career diplomat. You don’t need any qualification, really, to be a U.S. ambassador to any country. You don’t even need a college degree; you don’t need a diplomatic background... you just need to be an entrepreneur, a successful business woman or businessman, or a political donor...”

Original co-hosts Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, and Debbie Matenopoulos joined Joy Behar at the Hot Topics Table on Friday, November 11, 2016.

Original co-hosts Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, and Debbie Matenopoulos joined Joy Behar at the Hot Topics Table on Friday, November 11, 2016.

Lou Rocco/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images

Adding to her selling point, Matenopoulos said that she was “hand picked by arguably the most important influential female journalist of all time, Barbara Walters, to be on ‘The View’ straight out of college.”

The lifestyle curator has returned to The View intermittently as a guest host.

She ended her bid by addressing President Donald Trump. “This is my plea to the president and to the Senate and to the people of America and the people of Greece,” she said. “Please let me represent you as your new U.S. ambassador to Greece.”

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