Opinion and Commentary By Donna Westfall – November 8, 2024

Until the wee hours of the morning of November 6th, I had no idea who Susie Wiles is. She was up on stage with Trump’s family and friends while he acknowledged becoming the President-elect of the United States, Susie was not one to take center stage and speak at the mic. She prefers to remain in the background.

I was born and raised in California and have spent the majority of my life here; proud to be an American and proud to be a Californian UNTIL Biden/Harris/Newsom. For the first time in my life I started thinking of moving out of the country – but where? Always loved Switzerland and New Zealand as I was lucky enough to have traveled around the world during the 70’s.

I was born in an era with greats like Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodger, Sandy Koufax. He inspired me to excel in baseball and excel I did, even though it was just elementary school.

Greats like inspirational John F. Kennedy (JFK), “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” In one of his famous speeches he points out the true enemies of man, “tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.” He instilled in people the desire to better themselves and our country.

While he was President, I studied and knew about every member of his cabinet. I was so proud of the man and what he was trying to accomplish.

Then things changed. I stopped watching the news and reading most of the big newspapers. starting on August 19, 1995, at 9:02 am when Timothy McVeigh bombed the Murrah Federal office building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I can’t explain exactly my process, but after turning off the news of that event, my life took a turn away from watching TV news and reading the major papers. I didn’t miss it.

Fast forward to almost 30 years later. I started watching the news on TV. When? November 5th. The nervousness and anxiety of these last four years of watching the train wreck of Biden/Harris/Newsom slowly dissipated with each new electoral vote count in favor of Trump. Watched the news almost non-stop and long into the morning until I heard Trump speak and wondered, “Who is that woman on the stage that doesn’t want to speak?”

She’s no spring chicken. She’s 67 years old and a grandmother.

Who is she though?

If everything continues on target, she’s going to be the White House chief of staff (CoS). And the first woman at that post.

What are her qualifications? Is she just a glorified secretary? What will her duties entail?

QUALIFICATIONS:

She’s worked as a Republican consultant since the late 1970’s.

She worked as a Republican consultant in Trump’s 2016 campaign.

She worked in Ron DeSantis’ campaign for governor in 2018 and he won.

Co-campaign manager for Trump the last two years making him assessible to all types of people.

Let’s hope that Trump continues to listen to her as she’s smart, a strategist, and highly competent.

WHAT DOES THE WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF DO?:

She’ll be leading teams, easing communications, and uniting people across organizations to keep them moving forward including:

• Streamlining decision-making.
• Improving the flow of information.
• Strategically managing Trump’s calendar.
• Maximizing Trumps limited time. Let’s face it, he ain’t getting any younger.
• Optimizing administrative processes.
• Making workflows more efficient.
• Making the leadership team cohesive.
• Enhancing perspectives.

In Trump’s previous White House term, he went through four Chief’s of Staff. The questions to ask: How long will Susie Wiles last? Will he fire her or will she quit?

A job that started in Eisenhower’s presidency and always held by men; Susie Summerall Wiles, may her new position be gratifying as well as fruitful.