last week, newly elected president donald trump announced that his campaign co-chair Susie Wills would serve as his White House chief of staff, becoming the first woman – Republican or Democrat – to hold that position. Trump credited her with helping him win both the 2024 and 2016 elections, describing her as “tough, smart, innovative…, universally admired and respected.”
behind the scenes
Wills is known as a formidable political activist who prefers to work behind the scenes rather than on any stage or in front of the cameras. With that in mind, when Trump declared victory In the early hours of last Wednesday morning, they invited her to come to the microphone, but she politely declined.
She managed to remain in good standing with Trump, winning his trust while serving in a high-profile campaign role, managing not only the ambitions, personalities, and ego in Trump's orbit, but, more critically, , managed to stay on good terms with Trump.
Relationship with campaign staff
Wills is beloved by Trump campaign staffers, many of whom call him a mentor.
Danielle Alvarez, a senior Trump adviser, said, “Susie Wills is a tremendous advocate for President Trump and a great boss to those who work for her.” “She knows how to bring people together.”
Brian Hughes, another senior advisor, said, “For me and countless others, having Susie Wills as a mentor and friend has been a gift.” “The nation will see that the next four years with President Trump in the White House and Susi as COS will be the best for America.”
“Those who worked for Wills will take a bullet for Susie,” said campaign consultant Carlos Trujillo, who served as U.S. ambassador to the Organization of American States. Trujillo said most people don't see the maternal and grandmotherly side of Wills. “He always made sure his people were taken care of,” he said. “She's very soft-spoken, but she holds everyone accountable, and it's always through love and kindness but never in a place of hate.”
management style
Employees say Wills runs a tight and focused ship. Trump's 2024 campaign did not undergo the major, dramatic changes or infighting that characterized his previous campaigns. Wills's appointment indicates that as the elected President he wants to run his administration in a similar manner.
Wills' legacy, Trujillo said, is his ability to nurture talent. “Susie is the greatest coach ever in politics…She's going to be able to recruit the best talent.”
And while Wills stays out of the spotlight, she made a rare comment on X when businessman Mark Cuban said in an interview Interview Trump was accused of not having relationships with “strong, intelligent women” on ABC's “The View.” In response, Wills Posted For the first time this year: “I have been told [Mark Cuban] Help is needed to identify the strong and intelligent women surrounding the President. Trump. Well, here we are!”
background
After Trump won the 2016 election, Wills, who was the chief strategist in Florida for his campaign, was sent in late September 2018 to help Ron DeSantis' 2018 bid to become Governor of Florida. At the time, he was trailing Democrat Andrew Gillum on many counts. election,
However, after helping DeSantis win, Wills was ousted from his inner circle atlanticTim Alberta. Wills told Alberta that working for DeSantis was the “biggest mistake” of her career. She returned to the Trump campaign and ran his Florida campaign in 2020, and then after his defeat, she began running Trump's Save America PAC.
As Trump's 2024 co-campaign manager, Wills, along with Chris LaCivita, planned to recruit, register and turn out Trump's low-propensity voters, according to the Alberta report. During the primary campaign, he went after people in the country's reddest areas who liked Trump but were not habitual voters and, in many cases, were not even registered to vote. During the general campaign, Wills and LaCivita raised a volunteer army to combat the large number of campaigners paid from Kamala Harris's cash-rich treasury.
Wills is a New Jersey native, the daughter of the famous late NFL kicker and sportscaster Pat Summerall. Shortly after graduating from college at the University of Maryland, he worked for Ronald Reagan's presidential campaign and later worked in Florida politics. In 2010, she helped Senator Rick Scott win election against Democrat Bill McCallum, and she has also been a political consultant in Florida.
