Evi Kokalari: From Doubter in Trump's Inner Circle to Opportunist

Albanian lobbyist in the US, Evi Kokalari, who during the election campaign fiercely criticized Donald Trump’s closest associates and even members of his family, now has nothing but praise for the President-elect on social media.

In just the past few days, she has lauded Trump’s positions on events in Syria and Ukraine, as well as his selections for certain roles in the new administration.

For instance, she commented on Kimberly Guilfoyle's post, whom Trump nominated as the future US Ambassador to Greece, on the social network "X" with the message:

“What a fantastic pick by President Trump.”

She also commented on the former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Newt Gingrich's statement about Donald Trump, writing:

“Gingrich is right; President Trump is a mythic figure. After two impeachments and two assassination attempts, he is stronger than ever.”

In response to claims that Trump is lobbying Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to appoint his daughter-in-law Lara Trump to Marco Rubio’s Senate seat, Kokalari replied that she doesn’t understand the negative comments, stating that Lara Trump would be “excellent in the Senate.”

“She is such a down-to-earth individual. I seriously don’t get the backlash,” Kokalari added.

Another of Trump’s personnel decisions met with her approval, as she congratulated Harmeet Dhillon on being tapped by the President-elect for the role of Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in the US Department of Justice.

From her other posts on “X,” it seems that Trump has become much more acceptable to Kokalari following his victory.

She shared his message from the social network “Truth” following the change of power in Syria and the flight of long-time president Bashar al-Assad, in which Trump touched on Russia, and also Ukraine.

“There’s always a chance we’ll have world peace before the newly elected Present takes office! Trump is pushing for peace in Ukraine,” Kokalari wrote.

She also seized the opportunity to comment on Donald Trump’s visit to Paris for the grand reopening of the restored Notre-Dame Cathedral, where several videos were shared showing Trump warmly shaking hands with numerous leaders.

Under one of those videos, she wrote:

“America, we are back… We are back as the superpower we have always been! God bless this great country!”

However, one of Trump’s close associates remains the target of her criticism – Richard Grenell, with whom she previously had a very friendly relationship.

She has even led her own “campaign” against Grenell, accusing him of numerous missteps, including his affinity toward Serbia and Serbs.

Kokalari has criticized her former friend to the extent of publicly opposing the possibility of Grenell assuming one of the key roles in Trump’s new administration.

She even wrote online that she had “lost a few friends in recent months while fighting against the bad decision Trump would make if he chose Grenell as Secretary of State.”

Kokalari also sharply reacted to Grenell’s post condemning the attack in the village of Varage, which damaged the Ibar-Lepenac canal, and his call for accountability. She stated that Grenell “knows very well who did it,” insinuating Belgrade’s involvement and adding that he had “empowered the perpetrators over the past three years.”

“Stay out of matters related to the Balkans. President Trump will be briefed appropriately on what goes on in the region,” Kokalari wrote earlier this month.

Even during the election campaign, she directed criticisms and accusations at Grenell and didn’t spare Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama either.

She stated that the development project for the Albanian island of Sazan, which President-elect Jared Kushner’s son-in-law intends to invest in, is “corrupt.” She also claimed that Rama had “bought off members of Trump’s family and promised his children Albanian land worth $500 million, abusing his position and power.”

Notably, the Albanian community in the US strongly supported Kamala Harris in the previous presidential election, arguing that a change in the US administration would affect Washington’s policy toward Kosovo.

The Albanian-American Civic League clearly took Kamala Harris’s side.

Faton Bislimi of the Albanian-American Civic League told Kosova Press that Albanians predominantly supported Harris, who addressed them in a letter three days before the vote. He was confident that a change in the US administration would impact Kosovo as well.