Comment A trio of longtime Republican operatives will lead Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, which the former president is set to announce Tuesday night in the ballroom of the private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, according to five people familiar with the matter. the staff. decisions. Notable differences are expected from his 2020 campaign, advisers say. His nascent presidential bid is not currently expected to have a traditional campaign manager, with multiple advisers in top roles, according to some of the people familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal internal discussions. Trump is famous for firing campaign managers. Compared to 2020, the 2024 bid is expected to have a smaller staff and budget, advisers say, as Trump has complained that his failed 2020 campaign had too many people and spent too much money. He often told people that he didn’t even know what some of the people were doing in his last campaign. The new campaign is expected to be based in South Florida, advisers say, rather than having a presence in Washington. Trump has told others he wants to recreate the underdog atmosphere of the 2016 campaign. He faces a number of challenges, including multiple federal and state investigations, growing criticism from Republicans and unpopularity in many of the 2024 primaries. Trump is famous for overpowering his campaign advisers and pitting aides against each other, and some allies are already predicting drama and dramatic firings — before the campaign has even begun. Top advisers include Chris LaCivita, a longtime Republican strategist who runs a Trump-linked super PAC, and Susie Wiles, a Florida-based political consultant who helped Trump win the state in his two previous presidential bids and led his business policy for the past 18 months. LaCivita is expected to take the leadership role, but in practice the duties will likely be split between him and Wiles, a top campaign adviser said. The team of top advisers also includes Brian Jack, who served as a senior White House political aide and has been advising Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) since 2021. A representative did not return calls seeking comment. Taylor Budowitz, Trump’s current spokesman, will head an outside super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc. Trump — who wrote on Truth Social on Monday that he hopes Tuesday will be “one of the most important days in the history of our country” — is building an enterprise full of familiar faces with whom the former president, long distrusted Washington insiders, it’s comfortable. The former president has told aides he’s looking forward to making this campaign look like his 2016 effort, a top campaign adviser said. Wiles — the daughter of the late football player and TV host Pat Summerall — helped lead Trump’s Florida team to victory in 2016 and 2020. She is a kind but steely grandmother who has managed to respect Trump’s fragile trajectory and speaks frequently with Trump, having led his PAC for the past year. Trump has told others he trusts her political instincts after she helped him win Florida twice. He has close ties to Florida politics and a rocky relationship with Gov. Ron DeSandis (R), a potential Trump foe in 2024. He managed DeSandis’ 2018 campaign for governor and has previously worked for Republican Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott of Florida. LaCivita, a Virginia-based political consultant, helped lead the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth campaign against John F. Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee. During the 2020 campaign, she ran the Preserve America PAC – a group that spent more than $100 million to support Trump and was funded almost entirely by entities connected to Sheldon Adelson, the late Las Vegas casino magnate. Most recently, in 2022, LaCivita worked on the successful re-election campaign for Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and served as a senior strategist for the Trump-backed outside group, Make America Great Again Inc., which can to collect unlimited amounts of money. Jack, a veteran of Trump’s 2016 campaign, went on to work in the White House political office for four years. He later joined McCarthy’s team, managing his national political business, where the two men worked to advise Trump on his participation in the 2022 midterm contests. Jack is expected to take a senior role in Trump’s campaign early next year after completing his work for McCarthy in the coming weeks. Steven Cheung is also expected to join the campaign in a top communications role, according to three people familiar with the decision. Cheung worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign as director of rapid response and then joined his White House, staying for two years. He also previously worked as director of communications for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Kellyanne Conway, who managed Trump’s 2016 campaign, is expected to participate in some capacity, two people familiar with the situation said. But Conway, who has four teenage children and a contract with Fox News, is unlikely to move to South Florida. It is unclear who the campaign’s public spokesperson will be. no decision has been made, advisers said. And Tony Fabrizio, who previously served as the Trump campaign’s top pollster, will this time handle polling for a pro-Trump super PAC, two people familiar with the decision said. Other pollsters who have worked for Trump, including the McLaughlin Group, may continue to play a role, a person familiar with the situation said. Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, played major roles in his first two campaigns, both taking on roles as senior advisers in the White House. Now, however, the pair do not plan to be involved in the 2024 effort, a person familiar with the situation said. Kushner and Ivanka Trump, however, remain close to the former president, this person added. They golfed with him on Friday and spent the weekend with him at Mar-a-Lago for his daughter Tiffany Trump’s wedding, too. Donald Trump Jr., Trump’s eldest son, is likely to play a role similar to those he played in his father’s previous bids — campaigning for him in states where he can be helpful and offering advice when asked — but not will take over the role previously held by Kushner, a person familiar with the matter said. Boris Epstein — a combative communications consultant who helped fuel Trump’s baseless claims that the 2020 election was rigged — is expected to be a senior adviser. Sergio Gore, a former aide to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and a former Trump fundraiser, is also expected to take on an advisory role. And Gary Coby, a longtime Republican digital and Trump strategist, is expected to continue doing digital work for the campaign. Trump has only in recent days begun interviewing campaign staff. His advisers had hoped he would delay his announcement a little longer so they could build a more robust campaign engine, people familiar with the situation said. Some of his longest-serving advisers have said privately that they are unsure whether they want to join another Trump campaign. Many have received calls in recent months because of their ties to Trump and his trajectory, and have been frustrated with his erratic behavior since he lost the presidency. Many Trump allies added that the former president had been in a particularly bad mood since last week’s election, when Republicans performed far worse than expected, and some donors and fellow Republicans publicly blamed Trump for the poor showing. Tuesday, however, could give Trump a chance to move beyond the midterms and into what he hopes will be a victorious presidential bid. Garry Maloney, a Republican consultant to more than a dozen presidential campaigns, praised the early outlines of Trump’s 2024 team, calling them “the gold standard of GOP consulting.” “The quality of the team is clear,” Maloney said. “Now, will Trump listen to them?” Isaac Arnsdorf contributed to this report.
