Richard Grenell, the Trump administration’s envoy for “special missions,” said he would consider running for California‘s gubernatorial race if former Vice President Kamala Harris enters it.

“That is a hot topic. I’ll make a little news, depends on if Kamala Harris runs,” Grenell told reporters at the Munich Security Conference after he was asked who he would support in the governor’s race.

“If Kamala Harris runs for governor, I believe that she has such baggage and hundreds of millions of dollars in educating the voters of how terrible she is, that it’s a new day in California, and that the Republican actually has a shot. And I wouldn’t say ‘no,’” Grenell said during his Germany trip.

Trump tapped Grenell to oversee the administration’s response to the Southern California wildfires last month. Grenell appeared in Los Angeles last week with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin and Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to evaluate fire recovery and debris removal efforts.

Late last month, Grenell traveled to Caracas and met with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, resulting in the release of six detained Americans. Grenell’s meeting was part of the Trump administration’s efforts to deport violent criminal illegal immigrants from the United States to their country of origin.

Trump also tapped Grenell as interim executive director of the Kennedy Center after he fired the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees and appointed himself as chairman.

Grenell, a Los Angeles resident, expressed interest in running for governor when Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) faced a recall effort in 2021, but Grenell withdrew his name.

Since losing the presidential election and leaving office, Harris has returned to her home state and generally avoided the press. Harris has not announced her next plans, but recent polling shows she has the advantage in a Democratic primary were she to run for governor.

A new poll showed 57% of primary voters in Harris’s party would vote for her in a hypothetical election. Newsom is term-limited in 2026 and appears to be eyeing higher office, such as the presidency in 2028.

The Washington Examiner reached out to the California Democratic Party and Harris’s office for comment.

The comments about running for California come as Grenell is in Europe with Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as the Trump administration negotiates an end to the war in Ukraine.

Grenell praised Vance ahead of his remarks to the Munich Security Conference. “It’s so impressive to see how easily he talks about foreign policy,” Grenell said. “This is what I was struck with, is that he’s super comfortable with details.”

Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday about ending the war. The special envoy declined to discuss how meetings about the Russia-Ukraine negotiations went, but he did express pleasure about how allies were responding to the recent developments.

“I’m a German expert because I used to be the ambassador here, and what makes me very pleased is to hear the Germans say we should have done this years ago,” he said. “And it’s holding myself back from saying, ‘I told you so. Donald Trump was right.’”

“I’m shocked that there is an actual belief, and it’s now being articulated, not just something that they think — but an actual articulation that they should have done these things a long time ago,” the former German ambassador said. “Within the foreign policy establishment of Europe, there is an inward look to say, ‘Did we bring this war on ourselves? Were we too close to Russia?’” 

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Grenell also praised Trump for his ability to work fast on several policy issues when asked by a reporter.

“I love the fact that Donald Trump and I would say JD Vance both just make it about normal, commonsense policies that affect people every single day,” he said. “So, I think it’s exciting to be able to have a leader who’s got ideas. But I think if you’ve worked with President Trump long enough, you know, just keep up and read, and there’s ideas coming out.

Jack Birle contributed to this report.