Donald Trump ally Alex Bruesewitz jetted out of Qatar late Monday with other lucky passengers as thousands of Americans were left stranded in the Middle East following the deadly U.S. attack on Iran.
Bruesewitz — an ex-Trump 2024 campaign adviser who is now senior adviser to one of his PACs — reportedly flew from Doha to Athens with help from White House officials and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), the latter of whom recently downplayed the U.S. strikes on Iran as “not war.”
Bruesewitz told Politico’s West Wing Playbook that he paid for the private charter flight and worked with Qatari, Saudi and U.S. officials to get himself, dog-walking TikTok influencer Sarah Gaither, and Jay Footlik, an ex-special assistant to former President Bill Clinton, out of the country.
Bruesewitz offered the flight to Gaither after she shared viral TikTok clips that her return trip from an African safari was upended when flights were suspended during a layover in Doha, per The Daily Beast.
A photo, shared by Politico’s Sophia Cai on X, shows Bruesewitz, Gaither and three others aboard the jet as they head to Athens.
As thousands of stranded U.S. travelers grow frustrated with the chaos in the region and shortage of assistance from the administration, the president seemingly defended the lack of an evacuation plan for other Americans, telling reporters Tuesday that it all “happened very quickly.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted that officials are “confident” they’ll be able to assist “every American” stranded overseas.
Jason Koerner/Getty Images for Latino Wall Street via Getty Images
Bruesewitz cited his close ties to Trump’s U.S. ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, as the reason the group flew to Athens.
“This has easily been the craziest experience of my life,” Bruesewitz said.
“I’m grateful for all of the people who played a role in getting us out of the active war zone and to safety. I can’t wait to get back to the USA, the greatest country in the world!”
Gaither, in a video from Doha shared with her 100,000-plus TikTok followers on Tuesday, said she was “really nervous” and that her adrenaline was “through the roof” as she expressed hope that she would safely return to the States.
On Wednesday, she shared a follow-up post captioned “Doha to Saudi Arabia ➡️🚗” as she flashed a thumbs-up to the camera. She also posted an Instagram Stories update suggesting that she’s still “attempting to get back” to the States.
Gaither did not immediately reply to HuffPost’s request for comment.
