Before Donald Trump won the 2024 election, when most of Europe doubted he’d defeat Kamala Harris, one small Balkan nation rolled out the welcome mat for his team. Now that country’s leader wants the world to know where he stands.
North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview that his government hosted Trump campaign officials months before the election, making them “practically the only government” in Europe willing to do so at the time.
“Even prior to him becoming President of the United States, some of the people which are part of his closest perimeter visited us even during the campaign when there was not too many European nations that believed that President Trump would become president,” Mickoski said in a nearly hourlong phone interview.
The July 2024 visit included some heavy hitters: Howard Lutnick, now Secretary of Commerce; Devin Nunes, former congressman; and Chris Pavlovski, the Macedonian-American owner of Rumble. They came to the government offices in Skopje just after the NATO summit in Washington.
“We strongly conveyed a message of support for President Trump prior to him becoming president,” Mickoski said.
That early bet on Trump has paid dividends. North Macedonia sent a formal delegation to Trump’s inauguration in January 2025, and Mickoski himself received an invitation to the ceremony. The relationship has only deepened since.
The prime minister outlined an extensive partnership spanning multiple fronts. His government coordinates with Ambassador Ric Grenell on future cooperation. They’re in discussions with Kimberly Guilfoyle, the U.S. Ambassador to Greece, about American LNG trade potential in the region. And North Macedonia has aligned with American positions at the United Nations on Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba.
“We are the pivotal point of American interests in the Balkans,” Mickoski said. “Without any doubt, we stand next to our strategical partners, the United States’s and President Trump’s policy, and we strongly support them.”
Perhaps most striking: Trump’s approval ratings in North Macedonia reportedly outpace any other European country.
“His credibility among Macedonian citizens is absolutely huge,” Mickoski said. He extended a warm invitation to the American president, promising Trump would “enjoy the support of Macedonian citizens” should he visit.
“When he will have available time slot in his schedule we will be very keen to host him if he decides to visit the region,” the prime minister added.
North Macedonia was also among the first nations to negotiate a trade deal with the United States following Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs. Mickoski indicated he hopes additional agreements will follow.
The small NATO member of about two million people has positioned itself as a reliable American partner in a region where such allies aren’t always easy to find. While Western European powers often hedge their bets, North Macedonia has chosen a different path.
For the Trump administration, which has emphasized bilateral relationships and transactional diplomacy, Mickoski’s government represents exactly the kind of partner they’ve sought: loyal, cooperative, and unafraid to stand with America when it counts.
