Kimberly Guilfoyle reportedly tried to pass off the AmEx texts as AI fakes

Kimberly Guilfoyle reportedly made one last argument before she lost her post in Athens. She told the White House that the messages at the heart of her American Express scandal had been made with artificial intelligence.

A scramble to keep the job

Guilfoyle stepped down as U.S. ambassador to Greece on Tuesday. The Wall Street Journal reports that in the days before she quit she phoned senior administration figures and people close to President Donald Trump in a bid to hang on.

Those calls came after the newspaper published texts between Guilfoyle and Eric Deters, a Trump donor. In the exchange she appears to ask him to quietly pay off a $100,000 American Express balance.

What the messages show

The texts date to July 2025, a few days ahead of the congressional hearing on her nomination. In one she pleaded with Deters to take care of it for her that same day. She then allegedly sent him a PDF explaining how to pay the card bill and suggested he could wire the money straight there.

According to the report she later insisted the exchange had been invented with generative AI. White House officials did not appear to accept that explanation. Deters has said the messages are authentic.

Other reports about her conduct

The newspaper also described a top lobbyist who remained part of Guilfoyle's inner circle. It reported that she took private jet trips and stayed in costly hotels paid for by a shipping tycoon.

Trump told reporters he was unhappy with what he had read about her and asked her to step aside. She did, though only after she had tried every option to stay, according to the report.