By Gram Slattery
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Newly elected Republican President Donald Trump appointed campaign chief Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff on Thursday.
It was his first appointment since winning Tuesday’s election against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. Here are some key facts about Wiles, who will lead day-to-day operations at the White House:
DISCIPLINED OPERATION
Wiles, a longtime Republican strategist, — along with co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita — is widely credited with running the most disciplined and sophisticated of Trump’s three presidential campaigns.
She wasn’t always successful in preventing Trump from going off-script, but she kept damaging media leaks to a relative minimum, launched a bold and successful strategy to win over some Latino and Black voters, and led the former president to a decisive victory.
PARTY ESTABLISHMENT
Wiles landed her a job working for Republican President Ronald Reagan’s successful 1980 campaign. For years, she worked with some moderate Republicans who promoted dramatically different policies than Trump’s.
Early in her career, she worked for Republican U.S. Representatives Jack Kemp, a staunch supporter of free trade, and Tillie Fowler, who was widely considered a moderate on several issues, including gun control.
She also briefly managed former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Jr.’s presidential campaign in 2012. Huntsman was perhaps the most moderate Republican in the field that year. He sharply criticized Trump after the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by Trump’s supporters.
WORKING FOR THE ENEMY
Later in her career, Wiles began working for more combative party figures, some of whom would become Trump allies, including U.S. Senator Rick Scott of Florida.
Notably, she was a key figure in Ron DeSantis’ successful gubernatorial campaign in Florida in 2018. She was fired by DeSantis after he took office.
When Trump and DeSantis faced off in the Republican presidential primaries, she presided over an aggressive and successful strategy to portray her old boss as personally unpleasant and out of touch on some key policy issues.
“ICE MAIDEN”
While Wiles is friendly in person, she is relatively little known and enigmatic for a political strategist of her stature. She rarely gives interviews on television and avoids speaking engagements. Like many successful campaign managers, she can be ruthless when she deserves to be.
Her personality contrasted with that of LaCivita, who was remarkably garrulous and outspoken.
During his victory speech, Trump referred to Wiles as the “ice girl.”
PROMINENT FAMILY
Wiles is the daughter of Pat Summerall, a prominent footballer and sportscaster. Summerall played in the National Football League for ten years and later announced 16 Super Bowls. He died in 2013.
(Reporting by Gram Slattery, Editing by Ross Colvin and Michael Perry)
