'It’s a mess!' How a veteran GOP consultant revitalized Trump’s 'political operation'

05 August 2024

In a December 2022 article for New York Magazine, journalist Olivia Nuzzi argued that former President Donald Trump had become the Norma Desmond of U.S. politics—meaning that Trump, like the once-popular silent film star Gloria Swanson played in Billy Wilder's 1950 film noir classic "Sunset Boulevard," was living in the past and struggling for relevance.

At that point, some figures on the right — including author Ann Coulter and some pundits at Fox News — viewed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the likely 2024 GOP presidential nominee.

But Trump went on to handily win the nomination, and much of the Republican Party is rallying around him as he goes up against Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in the general election.

In an except from her new book "Trump in Exile," journalist Meridith McGraw examines the role that veteran GOP consultant Susie Wiles played in Trump's comeback after he lost the 2020 election.

According to McGraw, Wiles was surprised when Trump gave her a prominent role in his political operation — as she had been considered a "card-carrying member of the GOP establishment."

Trump told Wiles, "It's a f*****g mess. I don't know who's in charge. I don't know how much money I have. I don't know if they're stealing from me. I don't know who's who. I need you to fix it…. It'll just take you a couple weeks. Just get it straight."

For Wiles, McGraw notes, "getting Trump's current operation in line, from fundraising to personnel, didn't take two weeks — it took around two months."

"After Wiles did a thorough review of his political operation," McGraw explains, "she drove back down to Palm Beach for a meeting with Trump to brief him on everything she had put together on the money he had available to him, who he needed to hire, and who he didn't need working for him."

The journalist/author continues, "If Trump ever needed someone who was experienced and competent, it was then. Trump agreed to all of her suggestions on the spot."

Read the full excerpt from Meridith McGraw's book at this link.

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