Trump's new choice for ambassador to Germany is a Fox News favorite who has spread right-wing conspiracies
- The White House has appointed Col. Douglas Macgregor, an outspoken former retired US Army colonel, as his ambassador to Germany.
- In a statement, the White House highlighted Macgregor's long record of achievement in the military and diplomacy.
- But progressive group Media Matters said that in appearances on Fox News Macgregor has spread right-wing conspiracy theories about migrants.
President Donald Trump's new appointee as ambassador to Germany, Col. Douglas Macgregor, is a former Army tank commander and frequent guest on Fox News, where he has promoted right-wing conspiracy theories.
The White House on Monday announced that Trump was appointing Macgregor to the role as US ambassador to the EU's largest economy, saying he is "widely recognized as an expert on force design and grand strategy."
It highlights his career of diplomatic and military achievement, noting that he "worked in support of Ambassador Holbrooke's team during the Proximity Talks in Dayton, Ohio" that ended the Bosnian wars of the '90s, and says "he worked closely with senior military and political leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany as the Chief of Strategic Planning."
Macgregor is described by Politico as "beloved by some analysts and former officers because of his questioning of Army orthodoxy" but "also criticized by some who cast him as a opportunist upset that he was not promoted to the rank of general."
The American Conservative describes him as a critic of the Washington DC establishment, and a "conservative whose own foreign policy views have naturally dovetailed with the stated goals of the Trump Administration: get out of endless, useless wars in the Middle East. Bring the troops home."
He's a frequent guest on Fox News, which has acted as an informal auditioning platform for people seeking roles in the Trump administration.
Progressive media monitoring group Media Matters in a report highlighted that Macgregor has been a frequent guest of Tucker Carlson, one of President Donald Trump's favorite TV hosts, where he has made a string of controversial claims.
In a June 2019 appearance on Carlson's show, Macgregor said that Democrats were plotting to alter the demographics of the US for electoral advantage.
"The more of these people that can be brought in illegally, as well as legally, the better it is for the Democratic Party," he remarked. He concluded that "their goal is to transform the United States into a facsimile of California."
The claim echoes the Great Replacement conspiracy, a far-right dogma that claims, without evidence, that progressives are secretly plotting to replace white Americans with non-white Americans.
In an appearance on Lou Dobbs' show in December, Macgregor spread allegations about George Soros, the Jewish financier who is a frequent target of conspiracy theories both in the US and Europe.
He claimed that Soros "has funded or helped fund these massive migrations out of Central America" and so bears partial "responsibility for the massive criminality pouring into the United States from Mexico."
Business Insider has found no evidence to support the claim.
Business Insider has attempted to reach Macgregor for comment on the appointment, and the criticism made of his comments on Fox News.
For several months the ambassadorship in Germany has been empty after the previous ambassador, Richard Grennel, left in June to come back to the US to serve as Trump's acting national security director.
Grennel had proven to be a controversial appointment, breaking with protocol to foster ties with the right-wing populist AfD party.