(Townhall) Now that we are recovering from the shock and (hopefully) have gotten some sleep from the excitement of defeating Vice President Kamala Harris, President-elect Donald Trump can really get to business: picking his White House staff.
To begin with, Trump will have to make arguably one of the most important decisions of his presidency: choosing his chief of staff. Rumors suggest that the woman behind his sweeping victory will be the frontrunner.
Long-time Florida-based political strategist Susan Wiles, the brains behind the president-elect’s win, has been chosen for the job, making her the first female White House chief of staff in history.
“Susie Wiles just helped me achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history, and was an integral part of both my 2016 and 2020 successful campaigns,” Trump said in a statement. “Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again. It is a well deserved honor to have Susie as the first-ever female Chief of Staff in United States history. I have no doubt that she will make our country proud.”
As the daughter of American football player and sportscaster Pat Summerall, Wiles managed operations for Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns in Florida and helped Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) with his 2018 bid for governor. She also worked as former President Ronald Reagan’s campaign scheduler during his 1980 presidential bid. She managed several political campaigns, including former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.’s presidential campaign and Florida Sen. Rick Scott’s Senate bid.
Referring to her as “Ice baby,” Wiles chose not to speak after Trump invited her to the microphone during his victory speech on Election night. He praised her and expressed his “tremendous appreciation” for her work.
“Susie likes to stay sort of in the back, let me tell you. The ice baby. We call her the ice baby. Susie likes to stay in the background. She’s not in the background,” Trump said. “Thank you, Susie.”
A Trump campaign official called Susie “as good as they get,” adding that she ran such a great campaign that even Democrats recognized her talent. Another official said that the 67-year-old Wiles has gained a lot of respect and loyalty from other staffers and that she “doesn’t play games.”
“She means what she says: On the campaign, she said we are checking egos at the door and held everyone to it,” the anonymous official stated.
The other staffers regard Wiles as the favorite to be Trump’s White House chief of staff, saying she ran the best campaign they’ve ever seen.
While Democrats claim Trump “hates” women, the president-elect has chosen women for top positions where they can actually do something and not in useless positions.
Trump’s campaign press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, played a pivotal role in his historic victory. The 27-year-old worked for Trump as a presidential writer and assistant press secretary in the press office during his 2016 administration.
Meanwhile, his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, has worked tirelessly to help Trump get elected. She is viewed as the president-elect’s “right-hand woman” and has been a prominent part of his election campaign over the past year. She traveled nationwide, delivered outstanding speeches to voters, and fought hard on stage during massive rallies for female voters in the U.S. The wife of Trump’s son, Eric, also took the lead during the “Women for Trump” rally.
