Mike Benz, a former State Department official and advocate for digital freedom, has called on President-elect Donald Trump to appoint aggressive and unyielding ambassadors to the United Kingdom and Brazil. Benz’s remarks come as Trump continues naming key appointees for his upcoming administration.
In a recent statement, Benz described the need for what he termed “absolute f*cking wrecking ball” personalities to challenge anti-free speech governments in the UK and Brazil. He emphasized the strategic importance of these diplomatic positions in countering leftist policies and ensuring U.S. interests are protected.
“That’s what we need in the UK, that’s what we need in Brazil,” Benz declared. He advocated for ambassadors capable of robustly coordinating activities across the CIA, Department of Defense, NGOs, universities, and private sector networks to act decisively against these governments.
“Take no sh*t. Coordinate all of CIA activity in the region, coordinate all of the DoD activity in the region, coordinate all the NGO, coordinate all of university all the for-profit networks and array them like a f*cking wrecking ball against those governments,” he said.
Benz is the founder of the Foundation for Freedom Online (FFO), an organization dedicated to defending free speech and promoting digital freedom globally.
His tenure at the State Department involved shaping U.S. foreign policy on international communication and information technology, giving him firsthand experience in addressing authoritarian policies abroad.
The United Kingdom and Brazil have been under scrutiny for their recent stances on free speech and digital rights. Benz has argued that these nations’ current governments pose a threat to individual freedoms and that decisive U.S. action is needed to counter their influence.