If Donald Tusk is the action hero of the EU bubble, then Gordon Sondland is the wholesome family man.
The new U.S. ambassador to the European Union released a video introducing him and his family to the people of Europe. It features shots of Sondland making coffee, relaxing at home, showing off his collection of art, and walking the dogs on the beach with his wife, Katy Durant. The closest the clip gets to excitement is when Sondland says he loves flying jet aircraft, accompanied by a clip of him climbing into a cockpit.
We also meet his son Max and daughter Lucy.
In the video, posted by the U.S Mission to the EU Twitter account on Friday, Sondland says he was the “first in my family to be born in the U.S. My parents were both European immigrants” (they escaped Nazi Germany) and then details his experience in the real estate and hotel businesses.
Introducing Gordon Sondland – family man, business leader, and the U.S. Ambassador to the EU!
Watch this video to get to know @USAmbEU and his family: pic.twitter.com/wTOR3nYOep
— US Mission to the EU (@US2EU) September 14, 2018
“I’m very excited about being President Trump’s selection to be the United States Ambassador to the European Union. I’ve met some incredible folks from all different parts of the EU leadership,” he says, adding that he and his team are “able to talk to people at all different levels of government. It helps bring about conversations that also help bring about change.
“President Trump has asked us to accomplish a great deal in the coming years.”
Sondland wrote in an opinion piece for POLITICO earlier this month that the relationship between the EU and the U.S. was “based on the unshakeable values we share.”
“As the U.S. ambassador to the EU, it will be my mission to strengthen the transatlantic partnership and nurture its transformative power to create mutual security and prosperity — even at the cost of some uncomfortable conversations,” he wrote.
Earlier this month, Tusk, the European Council president, set out his agenda for the coming months — in the style of a Hollywood blockbuster.
In a minute-long clip, Tusk, strides purposefully into a variety of high-level meetings with the likes of Emmanuel Macron and Theresa May, all accompanied by stirring music and in-your-face graphics.