It seems everyone is talking about the possible visit to Bucharest of Richard Grenell, the US’ Special Presidential Envoy for Special Missions and very close to President Trump. Why? Because he tagged our Prime Minister directly in a very important tweet. He pointed out that rogue USAID programs were weaponized during Biden’s Administration to suppress conservative voices, and that Romania was the latest target. Promoting radical interests, at the expense of Romanian values should be regarded as a serious and disruptive action.
That said, it is also a great credit to President Trump, as he seeks to clean out and repair unaccountable US government organs to prevent such abuse, in the States, but also abroad.
In fact, we should learn from his example.
Indeed, in light of Mr. Grenell’s posting on X, it is also useful for us to consider what US Vice President JD Vance said the other day at the Paris AI Action Summit.
In his speech, Mr. Vance noted that the US will continue to promote AI development in ways that generate economic growth and creativity, not stifle it. “We feel very strongly,” he said, “that AI must remain free from ideological bias and that American AI will not be co-opted into a tool for authoritarian censorship.”
Also noteworthy is US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s recent comments that NATO “must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective ... the US does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement." He also talked about Trumps declaration that NATO countries must contribute 5 percent of their GDP to defense, to share the burden with the US in a meaningful way.
Last but not least, President Trump reiterated his strong intention to dismantle the US’s own, unaccountable Deep State. Remarkably he did this during the Oval Office ceremony for Tulsi Gabbard, who is now the Director of National Intelligence and so the senior intelligence official in the United States.
Taken together, these statements are powerful, pointed, and direct. Meaning, there is an expectation from the US that, rather than cower in the face of challenges, America’s partners should take on responsibility, as Trump has, to make major reforms and to promote creativity and prosperity by undoing so much of the bureaucratic mechanism that are actually harmful to us.
However, our government has told us nothing about what we are going to do about it. It seems that they do not yet understand the Trump message.
One of our priorities must be to ensure that basic shared values such as freedom of speech and expression are protected and secured in Romania, especially when allegations of suppression against conservative voices are brought to light by our key NATO ally. It is within our power to make the necessary reforms and repairs.
The public needs to know if and when any entities were paid by rogue USAID operations and to what extent. Making sure our core values are protected from any and all hostile elements is paramount to the defense of our collective faith and heritage.
No effort should be spared to defend our way of life against numerous, complex and indeed, insidious threats. This is why we need to make proper plans, immediately, to reach the 5 percent defense GDP threshold (we are currently at 2.5).
I am doing my part in trying to bring investments to Romania that will both help provide for our defense needs and bring economic investment to our country. In January I launched the American - Romanian Business Roundtable with former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, General (ret.) James Jones of the Jones Group, with the aim of bringing unique American know-how in defense, AI, energy, and other sectors to Romania, which will be key to development going forward.
Strategic business development in Romania requires both clear vision and courage. This is how we can effectively free Romania from detrimental foreign dependencies!
We Romanians are proud of our culture and determined to protect it. We know all too well what happens when a bureaucracy runs rampant and is unaccountable to the people. We endured such a system for decades under communism. And so, when our American ally describes their experience of the past decade, we understand as well as anyone what that meant, including the pain and dangers it caused to American democracy.
However, just as America itself must struggle against the persistent threat of bureaucratic overreach, so do we.
We have made great strides since the bleak years of Communism. But we understand that we have much work to do. If we lead, rather than sit back silently, together we can usher in an era of Romanian achievement and prosperity to rival any in our long history.
Dr. Nawaf Salameh is a visionary entrepreneur and philanthropist, Founder and Chairman of the Nawaf Salameh Family Office and Alexandrion Group, a leading producer and distributor of spirits and wines in Romania and internationally; his career is marked by innovation, strategic investments in renewable energy, agriculture, and hospitality, as well as a strong commitment to supporting culture, education, and excellence through the Alexandrion Foundation.
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