Protests errupt in Venice as Trumps ambassador arrives in $450M superyacht

[IcyPeas]

Hundreds protested the arrival of billionaire and Trump-appointed US Ambassador Tilman Fertitta in Venice. ... part of a tour marking 250 years of American independence.

Fertitta's yacht, which is 117 meters long (384 feet) and worth an estimated $450 million (€393 million), loomed over historic buildings lining the lagoon.

Police boats patrolled the surrounding waters, while riot police guarded waterfront access points.

Around 300 protesters joined the rally in the city's historic center, carrying signs reading "Fertitta must go," "Make America Go Away," "Venice must not be used" and "No space for billionaires."

Fertitta is among America's 100 wealthiest individuals with a net worth totaling $11.3 billion. He built his fortune managing restaurants, hotels and casinos, and currently also owns Houston's basketball team.
...
His appointment as envoy to Italy was part of a pattern of Trump selecting donors and allies for ambassadorial posts in Europe.

"It's arrogant to think he can do what he wants in a city that is ever more sold to the single culture of tourism,” organizer Stella Morion told the AP. "It is the umpteenth slap in the face of a city and all of the people in Venice who struggle to reach the end of the month due to an increase in prices caused by Trump's war.”

Last year, many of the groups had protested the wedding of Amazon head Jeff Bezos to Lauren Sanchez.
...
Luana Zanella... criticized the use of police resources, calling it "sheer madness."

https://www.dw.com/en/billionaire-us-envoy-faces-venice-protests-amid-yacht-tour/a-78015401

[MoseShrute]

1. We're starting to see a rerun of the French Revolution before our eyes.

Probably won’t get as gory, but the wealthy are despised.

[Bettie]

2. They have earned it

with their actions and comments.

We are in "let them eat cake" territory.

[FakeNoose]

3. Our US Ambassadors are supposed to be diplomats

Their behavior is supposed to be, well ... diplomatic. They aren't supposed to visit foreign countries to show off their wealth and access to the US President.

Their purpose is to facilitate communication between our government and the host country. Also as the highest-ranking American in the host country they are there to offer assistance to other Americans who may need help while traveling or living abroad. In other words, Ambassadors are "public servants," in the highest sense of the term.

If Ambassador Tilman is causing resentment and protests by one of our closest allies, it is very concerning. He's not the president, he is a guest in Italy. So he needs to act like one, with humility and gratitude for their hospitality.

[Lategame]

4. To be fair

From France to Greece, the northern Mediterranean is packed with yachts and superyachts. It's dripping with displays of wealth everywhere.

[Kid Berwyn]

5. Nothing builds distrust like money.

People who have too much of it often worry those without it want to take it from them.

People who work for it know those who acquire it in other ways, like inheritance or theft.

[dalton99a]

6. Kick

[Prairie Gates]

7. In a real-life NYTimes pitchbot self parody, the New York Times had a puff piece about Fertitta

on his stupid yacht today. Truly unbelievable tone deafness.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/18/world/europe/tilman-fertitta-superyacht-italy-ambassador.html

[IcyPeas]

8. Totally tone deaf! For example:

...
The visitors could gawk at the boat’s pools, hot tubs, spa that offers facials and pedicures, movie screening room, putting green, multiple bars and two helicopters. They sipped wine, nibbled antipasti and posed for the ambassador’s Instagram feed — shoeless, as footwear is forbidden on the yacht — in rooms decorated with fluorescent artwork, varnished wood, crystal sculptures and chandeliers.
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How many people ever get to come on a boat like this?” ... “People love successful people. Everybody wants to be successful. And anybody who says they don’t is just lying to you.”

The way Mr. Fertitta sees it, giving Italians a glimpse of how the 0.1 percent live helps to make the kind of people-to-people connections that ambassadors are supposed to foster. Even if — or perhaps especially if — relations between the leaders of his home country and his host nation have deteriorated.

By and large, though, the guests he hosts aboard the yacht come from a narrow band of Italian society. The mayor of Naples, Gaetano Manfredi, attended a reception on the yacht last month. “The people I met on the ship,” he said, “were the people who represent the city’s ruling class.
...
Back on the yacht, I asked him if he was having fun in his job.

He looked puzzled. “I don’t really look at anything as fun,” he said. Still, he added, “It’s a very enjoyable job.”

https://removepaywalls.com/https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/18/world/europe/tilman-fertitta-superyacht-italy-ambassador.html