The modeling agent who introduced Donald Trump to Melania was removed as special envoy hours after a heated email clash with a top State Department official became public.
Paolo Zampolli, 56, lost his role as special envoy for global partnerships on Thursday. An unnamed U.S. official said his status had been “terminated” and that he was “no longer a government employee.”
The Daily Mail reported the ouster, tying it to a monthslong email fight with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau that Politico had detailed hours earlier. Zampolli is the longtime Trump friend who introduced the future president to Melania at a New York City party in 1998.
President Trump named him to the State Department post in March 2025, saying Zampolli would “help us advance America’s interests on the global stage.” The specific duties of the job were never tightly spelled out in public. That loose brief later became the heart of the clash.
Politico obtained emails in which Landau ordered Zampolli to stay inside a narrow lane. The deputy secretary told the special envoy to halt work that strayed beyond cultural diplomacy.
"immediately stop all work on ANY issues not directly tied to cultural diplomacy, including every one of the issues you mentioned in your recent emails."
Landau went further the next day. He wrote that Zampolli had “no intention of staying in the cultural diplomacy lane that you were assigned and accepted,” and accused him of pressing ahead with commercial and economic projects the deputy viewed as off-limits.
"fully intend[ing] to continue undertaking unauthorized and possibly unlawful ventures in commercial and economic matters,"
Landau also said Zampolli was “committed to a path of insubordination” and indicated the White House Presidential Personnel Office would be informed. He urged Zampolli to stop sending “unhinged emails until I receive further directions from the White House on how to proceed.” It remains unclear whether personnel officials ever acted on that notice.
Zampolli rejected the suggestion of illegal conduct and cast the dispute as a personal campaign against him. He told reporters Landau “has been attacking me from Day 1” and “has a problem with me.”
"Everything I did, he tried to destroy it,"
He insisted the chain of command ran to the Oval Office, not the deputy’s suite. “It’s out of control what he’s doing, and I serve at the pleasure of the president of the United States of America,” Zampolli said. He called himself “one of the most loyal friends of the president” and argued Trump was “the only person that can give me this job and can terminate me.”
Zampolli also said special envoy appointments “are for one year” and that Trump “extended it for more than six months.” He claimed the president had once asked him, “Why do you want to work in government when you can close all these deals?” He later called on State Department Inspector General Arne Baker to investigate Landau. There is no public sign that probe moved forward.
Zampolli’s tie to the Trumps runs back nearly three decades. He introduced Melania to Donald Trump in 1998, stayed in their orbit, served on the Kennedy Center board of trustees during Trump’s first term, and posted photos with the couple, including one dated December 31, 2017. In recent months he appeared in Instagram images meeting foreign leaders, politicians, and executives while highlighting those Trump connections.
After the dismissal news broke Thursday night, he struck a loyal tone on X and framed the end of the posting as a return to private dealmaking rather than a repudiation.
"Now it is time for the next chapter," "Back to business, building relationships and closing deals."
He added that “the President is always right,” that serving Trump and the country “has been the greatest honor of my life,” and that “President Trump changed my life once” and “He just did it again.” He said he had “absolute zero surprise” once the emails became public. He thanked Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for the chance to serve.
The White House did not offer an on-record response in the initial reporting. No full email archive or formal termination memo has been released. What is clear is the sequence: a nearly year-long fight over authority, a public airing of Landau’s accusations, and a same-day end to Zampolli’s government role.
Loyal friends can open doors. Bureaucracies still decide which doors stay shut, and personnel who answer to the president should never forget who holds the final word.
