Susan Wiles in portrait: This is Trump’s new chief of staff

After his victory in the US presidential election, Republican Donald Trump announced his first appointment in office: Trump’s campaign strategist Susie Wiles will become chief of staff in the White House. “Susie is tough, smart, innovative and widely admired and respected,” Trump said in explaining his selection. “She will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again. It is a well-deserved honor to have Susie as the first female Chief of Staff in United States history,” the Republican said.

Trump had already brought the 67-year-old Wiles onto the stage during his victory speech on Wednesday night. “We call her the ‘Ice Baby,'” he said. “Susie likes to stay in the background.”

As chief of staff, the 67-year-old will have a lot of power in the White House. The office controls access to the Oval Office – i.e. to the president and commander in chief. It is therefore one of the key positions for any government. As a political strategist, Wiles has been part of Trump’s inner circle for years.

There are several reasons why Trump may have chosen Wiles:

While Trump has worn out several campaign managers in the past, Wiles is the only one who lasted an entire campaign in this position. She has had to go through a lot since 2021: four court cases against her boss, two assassination attempts and the change of the Democratic competition from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris.

The daughter of American football legend Pat Summerall does not come from the right-wing political milieu of the usual Trump supporters, but does come from a “traditional” household, as her grandmother says. Born and raised in New Jersey, she attended the University of Maryland and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English. As early as 1980, she worked on Ronald Reagan’s successful presidential campaign.

Things continue successfully after that: Wiles victoriously led Rick Scott’s gubernatorial race in 2010, Trump’s Florida campaigns in 2016 and 2020, Ron DeSantis’ gubernatorial race in 2018 and now Trump’s national election campaign. According to the newspaper, Trump has often asked her for her opinion and thoughts during his current campaign. She is largely unfazed by his erratic anger, people close to her say, according to the Washington Post. She avoids the spotlight as much as possible. Certainly another plus point for someone like Trump who loves attention.