Paolo Zampolli, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump who introduced him to Melania, has been removed from his role as a special envoy following a bitter email dispute with a senior State Department official, according to a report.
The former modeling agent and longtime Trump family friend was dismissed Thursday from his post as special envoy for global partnerships, Politico reported.
Zampolli, 56, is credited with introducing Melania Trump to Donald Trump at a New York City party in 1998.
His departure came only hours after details emerged about a heated, months-long email confrontation with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.
In one exchange reviewed by Politico, Landau instructed Zampolli “once again” to “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.”
Responding to reports of his dismissal Thursday evening, Zampolli said, “the President is always right.”
He also recalled Trump asking him, “Why do you want to work in government when you can close all these deals?”
‘Now it is time for the next chapter,’ Zampolli wrote on X. ‘Back to business, building relationships and closing deals.’
Former modeling agent Paolo Zampolli, a longtime Trump ally, was dismissed Thursday as special envoy for global partnerships
Zampolli introduced Donald Trump to Melania at a New York City gathering in 1998
Zampolli described his service to Trump and the United States as “the greatest honor of my life,” while expressing gratitude to the President and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
He said special envoy appointments “are for one year,” adding that Trump had extended his assignment by more than six months.
“President Trump changed my life once,” Zampolli wrote. “He just did it again.”
Zampolli, who served on the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees during Trump’s first presidency, was appointed to the State Department role in March 2025.
A U.S. official told Politico that Zampolli’s appointment had been “terminated” and confirmed that he was “no longer a government employee.”
Following the announcement, Zampolli said he was “absolute zero surprise” by the outcome after his correspondence with Landau became public.
The emails, exchanged over nearly a year, reportedly reflected repeated disagreements about the scope of Zampolli’s responsibilities.
“You have no authority to engage in ANY issues of foreign policy outside of cultural diplomacy, including all the issues you have named,” Landau wrote, according to Politico.
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Zampolli reportedly clashed by email for nearly a year with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau (pictured) before his dismissal
Zampolli is credited with bringing Donald and Melania Trump together in 1998
The next day, Landau wrote that Zampolli had shown “no intention of staying in the cultural diplomacy lane that you were assigned and accepted.”
He also accused Zampolli of ‘fully intend[ing] to continue undertaking unauthorized and possibly unlawful ventures in commercial and economic matters,’ per the reported emails.
Landau also wrote that Zampolli was ‘committed to a path of insubordination’ and suggested that the White House’s Presidential Personnel Office would be informed.
It was unclear if that ever happened. Zampolli has denied any potential illegality, according to the outlet.
Zampolli blasted Landau and said he felt like the Deputy Secretary of State ‘has been attacking me from Day 1’ and ‘has a problem with me.’
‘Everything I did, he tried to destroy it,’ Zampolli told the outlet earlier on Thursday.
‘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 added.
He said Trump was ‘the only person that can give me this job and can terminate me,’ as he called himself ‘one of the most loyal friends of the president.’
Zampolli could be seen posing with the Trumps for a picture in an Instagram post he made on December 31, 2017
Trump said Zampolli would work to ‘advanced America’s interests on the global stage’ when naming him a special envoy.
Zampolli’s specific duties were seemingly not outlined, though he appeared to insist that Landau was restricting his authority.
In recent pictures on Instagram, Zampolli could be seen meeting an assortment of global leaders, politicians and executives while touting his connections to Trump.
At one point, Zampolli called on State Department Inspector General Arne Baker to investigate Landau, per the report. It is not known whether that ever happened.
Landau then urged Zampolli to stop sending ‘unhinged emails’ until I receive further directions from the White House on how to proceed.
Before politics, Zampolli was known as the businessman and modeling agent credited for introducing Donald and Melania Trump.
Our News Outlet has reached out to the White House for further comment.
