On the road to the White House, President Donald Trump, at a campaign rally in Milwaukee, mocked – or so it seemed – Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, also known as ‘the Greek Freak.’

“Milwaukee was great,” Trump said. “The stadium is new. They built it for the basketball team, which is excellent. You know ‘The Greek, right? ‘The Greek.'”

The audience whooped and hollered in agreement.

Is Trump really as Greek as Antetokounmpo?

Trump then went on to talk about Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Bucks star from Athens, Greece, with has Nigerian heritage. A two-time NBA MVP, Antetokounmpo guided the Greek national team to secure a spot in the Paris Olympics and was honoured by his peers as a flag bearer for the event.

“He’s a good player,” Trump said.

“And tell me, who has more Greek in them, the Greek or me? I think we have about the same,” he said.

He went on to praise Antetokounmpo’s prowess, calling him “the best” and adding, “he’s a really nice guy, I hear.”

The NBA star, is a Greek and a Greek Orthodox Christian now Greek Diaspora in the United States.

The question, “Who has more Greek in them, the Greek or me?” challenges the authenticity of modern Greeks – a question that both modern Greece and the Greek Diaspora have long grappled with.

Nineteenth-century British and German eugenic notions led to modern Greeks no longer being seen as ‘white.’ The modern concept of race positioned Western powers as gatekeepers of ancient Hellenism. Yet the ancient Hellenes, and those of Byzantium later, never viewed identity through the lens of race or colour. One was either a Hellene (and later a Christian Hellene) or not. The Hellenes of the Southeastern Mediterranean, Asia Minor (now Turkey), the Levant, and Egypt were forced to either ‘whiten’ as part of the diaspora or prove their alignment with the West in modern Greece.

The Greek Diaspora in the United States, who were targets of KKK violence in the 1920s, sought to align themselves with ‘European’ American values and leaned into the Anglo-Germanic notion of Hellenes. Trump’s assumption that he is as Greek as Antetokounmpo stems from his perception of race. Yet Antetokounmpo is Greek, and the President is not.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, the real Greek, pushes the ball up the court against Toronto Raptors. Photo: AAP viaAP/Michael McLoone

Greek Diaspora and Trump: Can we leverage?

So, how will Greeks in America, and those in Greece, respond to Trump? Once predominantly Democratic Party voters, Greek Americans, like Jews and Italians – who existed on the cusp of ‘whiteness’ – have increasingly drifted towards the GOP.

Alexander Billinis, historian, lecturer, and PhD candidate at the Department of History at Clemson University in South Carolina, believes, “Greek Americans lean conservative both fiscally and ideologically.”

The Neos Kosmos contributor estimates that “60(ish) percent of Greek Americans may have voted for Trump.”

Billinis adds that any candidate’s stance on Greece, whether GOP or Democrat, “is not central to the Greek American vote.”

To illustrate the point, Billinis critiques President Biden’s self-proclaimed nickname “I am Joe ‘Biden-opoulos,” used during a Greek National Day event on Capitol Hill, as a “ridiculous gag.” He further notes that “Biden supported upgraded F-16s for Turkey.”

Louis Katsos, entrepreneur, and president of the East Mediterranean Business Culture Alliance (EMBCA), and one of the very few non-Black executive board members and Vice President of The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, believes the Trump administration will have a “multifaceted” impact on “Hellas and Hellenic Americans.”

“Several Hellenic Americans will hold influential positions within the administration, strengthening US-Greece relations,” said Katsos.

Katsos points to Michael Kratsios, “with roots in Chios and Kastoria, who leads the US Office of Science and Technology Policy, advising on technological advancements,” and Michael Rigas, who “has been nominated as Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, bringing extensive experience in government operations.”

“On Capitol Hill, Hellenic American lawmakers like Gus Bilirakis and Nicole Malliotakis, along with others on a state level, actively promote initiatives supporting Hellas.

“Bilirakis, co-chair of the Congressional Hellenic Caucus, has long advocated for Cypriot sovereignty and robust US-Hellenic relations.”

Katsos also highlights Trump’s “personal relations” with individuals like 76-year-old New Yorker John Catsimatidis, an exemplar of the immigrant success story, rising from a poor immigrant to a grocery billionaire, and publisher of the Hellenic Times newspaper. He adds that Trump’s long-standing connections with other Hellenic American businessmen will further help strengthen those ties.

Billinis expects Trump’s mercurial nature to remain an issue, as it was in his first term.

“That makes for a great degree of discomfort – this is his preferred mode of operation – keeping friend and foe off balance.

“For example, tariffs – the potential for tariffs might be the best way for trade partners to enact trade policy favourable to the US.”

Billinis reminds us that the US two-party system means “both parties are big, unwieldy tents.”

“Trump is far less popular than he contends, yet he was less unpopular than the Democrat machine, and the Republicans managed to expand their tent to include substantial traditional Democrat voters.”

Greeks can ‘pass’ or morph, can we do it to our advantage?

Regardless, it may be an opportune time to take advantage of Trump’s transactional politics and cultural narrative – by endorsing his and Antetokounmpo’s ideas of Hellenism. Given that Australia is a key member of the Five Eyes alliance and a major US ally, while Greece is one of the EU’s top spenders on defence with 3.1 percent of its GDP, there may be scope for the Hellenic Diaspora in Australia and the US to work more closely to align the interests of their respective nations with those of Greece.

Either way, we can boast that one of the greatest basketball players of this generation – Giannis Antetokounmpo – is one of our Diaspora. Antetokounmpo, embodies modern Greece’s evolving identity.