WASHINGTON—Nick Adams reeled off the countries he had visited in recent weeks: Ireland, Italy, France, Romania, Egypt, Qatar, Malta, and the UK.
“The purpose of the roadshow was to set the record straight,” Adams told The Epoch Times.
President Donald Trump’s special envoy for American tourism, exceptionalism, and values is fighting a widespread narrative about the United States—the view that “America is inhospitable, expensive, unsafe, and unwelcoming,” he said.
Adams sees a counter-narrative emerging on social media during the FIFA World Cup, which the United States is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico. Europeans who have come for the games are posting videos that show their love for America’s sights, sounds, and tastes, from blue cheese snacks to the Buc-ee’s gas station chain.
The special envoy confirmed to The Epoch Times that he has invited one of those tourists—a German man named Freddy whose X posts about his visit have gone viral—to the White House.
“I have been selling that the experience in America is unlike any other, and it was never going to be a hard sell,” Adams said.
The Australian-born conservative describes himself as “America’s brand ambassador”—a salesman for a country he sees as truly exceptional.
Adams said he is at home in the narrative battlespace.
The commentator-turned-diplomat was an early backer of Trump, including through a Townhall op-ed in February 2016. At that time, many other high-profile conservatives opposed the outsider candidate.
“I certainly lost a lot of friends temporarily,” Adams said. “I just told them, ‘Look, this is my guy.’
“Instinctively, viscerally, impulsively, I knew that he was the guy that America and the world needed. And I’m so happy I turned out to be right.”
The president is a longtime fan. In early 2017, he endorsed Adams’s book “Green Card Warrior,” which chronicles the author’s odyssey as a legal immigrant to the United States. Adams became a U.S. citizen in 2021.
“I came right after the 240th birthday of America, and now I’m celebrating a decade here with the 250th,” he said.
Alpha Mindset
Adams has a lot in common with Trump. Both are voluble, high-energy salesmen, including of themselves—a deeply American type.
Both have also come under attack for what they say on X. Like Trump, Adams makes observations—and cracks jokes—that push the boundaries of political correctness.
His profile grew several years ago thanks to viral posts in which he extolled the Hooters restaurant chain and described himself as an “alpha male.”
In his interview with The Epoch Times, Adams said it was “transparently obvious” that he was doing a comedy bit, describing that over-the-top persona as “the Nick Adams alpha male character.”
Yet there was something sincere at the core of that performance. Adams genuinely champions what he describes as the alpha mindset. What is it?
“It means that you are not dominated by anyone or anything other than God,” he said.
His posts, he added, were intended to build up the confidence of young men. Ahead of the 2024 election, he also sought to increase support for Trump among that demographic—a goal that became a reality.
Adams was named special envoy in March 2026.
In 2025, Trump nominated Adams to be the ambassador to Malaysia. His past commentary, including remarks critical of Islam and supportive of Israel, drew backlash and protests from some in the predominantly Muslim country.
The Senate returned his nomination to the president in January 2026.
Adams said that his meetings with various senators went well, but the government shutdown in late 2025 delayed the consideration of his nomination.
“Then I got a phone call from the White House, and they said to me, ‘The president has a major promotion for you. He wants you to run tourism for America,’” Adams said.
The position, which Trump created for Adams, falls within the State Department. The National Travel and Tourism Office in the Department of Commerce also plays a major role.
“I’m really happy where I landed. I certainly feel that this is a job that I was born to do,” Adams said.
Opening Doors
The number of international visitors to the United States fell by several million in 2025, marking the first decline since 2020.
A report from the Congressional Research Service noted that the administration’s immigration policies, including restrictions on foreign nationals from some countries, have “led to concerns about a dampening effect on travel to the United States, including for tourism.”
Adams does not see any conflict between toughening immigration law enforcement and supercharging tourism from abroad.
“We can protect our borders while opening our doors,” he said.
He cited the FIFA Pass for World Cup attendees, noting that it shortened visa wait times for visitors from about 80 percent of countries.
“Our message was very clear: If you bought a ticket for the World Cup, we wanted you at the gate,” Adams said.
He hopes to make the experience of coming to the United States as a tourist smoother.
“I want it to be a seamless, five-star experience. I want it to be like checking into the Ritz Carlton,” he said.
Could that include faster U.S. Customs and Border Protection lines? “Potentially, potentially,” he said.
Adams’s long-range goals are even more ambitious. He hopes to draw an average of 100 million visitors per year by 2030. That’s tens of millions more than the 68 million who came in 2025.
In his telling, there’s a lot for the world to get excited about. In 2026, beyond the World Cup and America’s 250th, there’s the 100th anniversary of Route 66. Over the next decade, the 2031 Rugby World Cup, the 2034 Winter Olympics, and, if the U.S. bid succeeds, the 2035 World Expo will all be hosted here.
“This is the golden age of travel and tourism in the United States of America,” he said.
What does America’s salesman have to say to those planning a trip to his adopted homeland?
“Be prepared to experience a slice of the American Dream for a while.”
