In 2011, Bill White and Bryan Eure tied the knot at the Four Seasons hotel in New York. The event featured a performance by Aretha Franklin, was attended by throngs of high-profile liberal elites and earned the headline 'Big, Fat, Gay Wedding' in Women's Wear Daily.
White is a wealthy, well-known and well-connected businessman who has backed both Democrat and Republican candidates over the years. He describes himself as a registered independent voter and a conservative, and counts media tycoon Rupert Murdoch and Donald Trump Jr as friends.
He was one of the largest donors to Mitt Romney's 2008 presidential campaign but demanded a refund when Romney explicitly opposed same-sex marriage. "I feel like he's declared war on my marriage," White told CNN at the time.
White and his partner have been alienated from the liberals who celebrated their wedding by announcing steadfast support for Trump in the wake of his 2016 presidential victory. White was then a major donor to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign despite the now-victorious candidate's ambiguous views on equal marriage.
"I don’t like identity politics," Eure told the New York Times in defence of the couple's U-turn.
Nonetheless, the wager has delivered: White was appointed US Ambassador to Belgium on Sunday. His illustrious career has spanned several fields but this is his first official governmental position.
Bill White and Bryan Eure pose with Melania Trump in April 2024. Credit: X
New York native with a love for veterans
Bill White is a 57-year-old New York native, born in Point Lookout and has spent much of his life as a Manhattan resident.
In 1992 he joined the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, located on board the Intrepid air carrier in New York. He eventually became president of the organisation. In 2010, he founded Constellation Communications, a consultancy firm that aims to support US army veterans and their families.
White resigned from the Intrepid in 2010 with little warning. It soon emerged that he had agreed to pay a $1 million settlement to the New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo due to his involvement in an illegal fundraising scheme. He allegedly took undisclosed payments from companies in exchange for connecting them with the New York State Common Retirement Fund.
He was never charged as a criminal and returned to the Intrepid as a board of trustee member for its Fallen Heroes Fund in 2011. The businessman has made large donations to US presidential candidates on both sides of the spectrum. He supported Hillary Clinton's bid for the White House in 2016. The proceeds of costly fundraiser dinners (meals cost $39,500 at one such event) went to her that year. But come 2020, it was Trump's campaign that received White's substantial backing.
Donald Trump wins the 2016 US presidential election. Credit: Belga / Laurie Dieffembacq
White has justified the leap to Trump, telling the New York Times "I’m not a wallower in self-pity", in reference to dismay among Democrats at the election results. "I really believe that once that decision is made, you have to get behind your president."
Trump has praised the new Ambassador to Belgium for his contributions to the US military. "Bill has worked tirelessly to support Great American Patriots who have given everything for our Country by raising over $1.5 Billion Dollars for our fallen heroes, catastrophically wounded and severely burned Service Members," he said in a Truth Social post on Saturday.
"He is a twice recipient of the Meritorious Public Service Award for extraordinary service from the US Coast Guard and for outstanding support from the US Navy."
Becoming Belgian
The US Embassy in Brussels. Credit: Belga
The incoming US President's appointments have so far raised eyebrows at home and internationally. For instance Pete Hegseth, who is suspected of sexual misconduct and alcohol abuse, was chosen as Defence Secretary. Elon Musk, the outspoken owner of social media platform X, has been appointed to co-lead a newly created Department of Government Efficiency.
Julie Birkholz is a member of Democrats Abroad Belgium and says White's appointment to "one of the most important ambassadorship posts, given the presence of NATO and the EU". But the announcement is "no surprise" she says, given White's financial contributions to the Trump campaign.
"Unfortunately that is common practice in US politics," she told The Brussels Times. "Although previously he has been a supporter of both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. I am therefore hopeful that although our political views may differ, we may have some policies in common."
