Trump nominates Arizona man to be US ambassador to Jamaica

PHOENIX — An Arizona man was nominated Monday by President Donald Trump to be the U.S. ambassador to Jamaica.

Donald R. Tapia, the White House said in a press release, was picked to be “Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Jamaica.”

Tapia, an 80-year-old Paradise Valley man, was a major supporter of President Donald Trump during the 2016 election, according to The Arizona Republic.

According to the publication, Tapia last visited Jamaica about 20 years ago.

“I’m very honored and humbled,” Tapia told the Republic. “This is your legacy that you’re actually going to leave.”

Tapia was spotted wearing a Trump T-shirt during a baseball game and attended a Trump rally sporting a “Make America Great Again” hat during the 2016 election, according to the publication.

A review of Federal Election Commission records showed that Tapia donated more than $1 million, mostly to Republicans, since 2000, and donated $100,000 to Trump’s inaugural committee.

Tapia was also the former CEO of the Chandler-based ESSCO Wholesale Electric. He grew up in Detroit before joining the Air Force and worked in California before ending up in Arizona.

The nomination was one of three that Trump sent to the U.S. Senate. The president also picked Cherith Norman Chalet of New Jersey to be an ambassador to the United Nations and John Rakolta Jr. of Michigan to be an ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.

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