Because there’s seemingly no limit on failing upwards in the world of billionaires, Jeffrey Loria is reportedly being considered to be the next United States ambassador to France.
That’s according to this New York Post report:
But (White House chief of staff Reince) Priebus is using his Oval Office access to get President Trump to sign off on a list of some of the most desirable diplomatic postings, angering State Department officials, multiple sources confirmed.
So far, Priebus has pushed — and won signoffs — for Miami Marlins owner Jeff Loria to head to France, GOP activist Georgette Mosbacher to Luxembourg, financier Lew Eisenberg to Italy and hedge funder Duke Buchan to Spain.
If you’re wondering what makes Jeffrey Loria a good option to represent the diplomatic interests of the United States, well, you probably should have guessed it by now, given the current political system. Here’s the Miami Herald with the key bits:
Loria, a New York art dealer who donated at least $125,000 to President Donald Trump during the campaign, is reportedly in talks to sell the team to a group that includes Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump son-in-law and top adviser Jared Kushner.
You don’t say! That’s shocking news.
It’s not just the imminent appointment of a franchise owner to an important diplomatic post as an apparent kickback for campaign support and a potential discount on an MLB team being sold to someone closely tied to the Trump family. (Though, as you’ll probably realize if you just read that sentence, that’s plenty bad enough!)
It’s that it’s this franchise owner. Jeffrey Loria is reviled, to a near-universal degree, for his management practices. He inspires hot takes that actually might not be hot enough, frankly. But hey, it’s not like France is an important ally.
But, there is one potential stumbling block, which is that MLB has to approve the sale of the team. It’s hard to imagine that Loria has a lot of goodwill built up, and this kind of entanglement cannot be appealing for the league, which is in its own way a public trust. (One that at this very moment the public might trust more than the government.)
SB Nation’s Grant Brisbee notes that it’s not a foregone conclusion, with trademark imagery:
MLB was the organization that let Loria feast on the innards of one franchise and own another, but this has to be a little much for them. https://t.co/zaxmnm0P8z
— Grant Brisbee (@GrantBrisbee) February 15, 2017
MLB owners might just want him gone, at this point, though. (Obviously in this case they’d be bringing in a whole new set of issues.)
If there’s any justice, Loria won’t be confirmed as an ambassador, and his sale will fall through too.
Which means he’ll be in France by the summer, lecturing Parisians on the finer elements of art. The man certainly knows a good sculpture when he sees one, after all.
Update:
BREAKING: Kushner family admits to being Marlins bidder, says it will not pursue Marlins if Jeffrey Loria is getting France ambassadorship pic.twitter.com/FEoJDlbdk6
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 16, 2017
