The 2024 campaign is expected to have a smaller campaign staff and budget compared with 2020, advisers said, as Trump has complained that his failed 2020 campaign was overstaffed and spent too much. He often tells people that he doesn’t even know what some of the people in the last campaign did.
The new campaign is expected to be based in South Florida, not Washington, the advisers said.
Trump told others he wanted to recreate the underdog vibe of the 2016 campaign. He faces a host of challenges, including multiple federal and state investigations, mounting criticism from Republicans and unpopularity in many states in early 2024.
Trump is known for overriding campaign advisers and pitting aides against one another, with some allies predicting dramatic and cinematic firings before the campaign even began.
Top advisers include longtime Republican strategist Chris LaCivita, who leads a Trump-linked super PAC, and Florida political consultant Suzy Wells (Susie Wiles), who helped Trump win the state in his first two presidential campaigns and has led his political campaign for the past 18 months.
A senior campaign adviser said Lacivita was expected to play the leading role, but in reality, the duties would likely be shared between him and Wiles. The group of senior advisers also includes Brian Jack, a former White House senior political aide who has been advising Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) since 2021.
A spokesman did not return calls seeking comment. Trump’s current spokesman, Taylor Budowich, will lead Make America Great Again Inc., an external super PAC.
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 operation full of familiar faces that the former president has long mistrusted. Washington insiders, comfortable.
The former president has told aides he aspires to a run similar to his 2016 effort, the senior campaign adviser said.
Wiles — the daughter of the late football player and TV sportscaster Pat Summerall — helped lead Trump’s Florida team to victories in 2016 and 2020. A polite but strong grandmother, she has managed to command the respect of Trump’s fractious orbit and has spoken to Trump often, leading his PAC for the past year. After she twice helped him win Florida, Trump told others he trusted her political instincts. She is close to Florida politics and has a bitter relationship with the governor. Ron DeSantis (right), Trump’s potential opponent in 2024. She ran for governor for DeSantis in 2018 and previously worked for Republican senators. Florida State’s Marco Rubio and Rick Scott.
LaCivita is a political consultant in Virginia who helped lead the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth campaign against 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry. During the 2020 campaign, he led the Protect America political action committee, which spent more than $100 million supporting Trump and was almost entirely funded by entities linked to the late Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson .
Most recently, in 2022, LaCivita was involved in the Senator’s successful re-election campaign. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and serves as a senior strategist for Make America Great Again Inc., a Trump-backed outside group that can raise unlimited amounts of money.
Jack was a veteran of Trump’s 2016 campaign and later spent four years in the White House political office. He later joined McCarthy’s team to manage his national political operations, and the two advised Trump on his involvement in the 2022 midterm elections.
After completing his work for McCarthy in the next few weeks, Jack is expected to take on a senior role in the Trump campaign early next year.
Steven Cheung is also expected to join the campaign in a top communications role, according to three people familiar with the matter. Cheung served as rapid response director for Trump’s 2016 campaign before joining him in the White House, where he stayed for two years. He also previously served as Communications Director for Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Kellyanne Conway, who managed Trump’s 2016 campaign, is expected to be involved in some capacity, two of the people said. However, Conway, who has four teenage children and a Fox News contract, is unlikely to move to South Florida.
It’s unclear who will be the public-facing speaker for the event; advisers say no decision has been made.
Tony Fabrizio, who previously served as the Trump campaign’s chief pollster, will handle the polling for the pro-Trump super PAC this time around, two people familiar with the matter said. Other pollsters who have worked for Trump, including the McLaughlin Group, are likely to continue to play, a person familiar with the matter said.
Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, have been instrumental in his first two campaigns, and both serve as senior advisers in his White House. Now, however, the couple has no plans to participate in the 2024 effort, a person familiar with the matter said.
However, the person added that Kushner and Ivanka Trump maintain a close relationship with the former president; Tiffany Trump’s wedding.
Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., could play a role similar to the one he played in his father’s previous campaigns — campaigning for him in states where he can help and offering advice when asked — but not A person familiar with the matter said Kushner had previously lived here.
Boris Epshteyn, a communications consultant for the boxer who helped encourage Trump’s baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen – is expected to become a senior adviser. Sergio Gor, former aide to the Senator. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and the former Trump fundraiser are also expected to serve as advisers. Gary Kirby, a longtime Republican digital and Trump strategist, is expected to continue doing digital work for the campaign.
Trump has only begun interviewing the campaign in recent days. His advisers had wanted him to delay the announcement a bit so they could build a stronger campaign, the people said.
Some of his longest-serving advisers have privately said they weren’t sure they wanted to run another Trump campaign. Many have received subpoenas in recent months for their ties to Trump and his orbit, and have grown frustrated with his erratic behavior since he lost the presidency.
Multiple Trump allies added that the former president’s mood has been sour since last week’s election, when Republicans performed well below expectations and some donors and fellow Republicans publicly accused Trump of underperformance. good.
Tuesday, however, may offer Trump an opportunity to move beyond the midterms and into where he hopes to win the presidency.
Gary Maloney, a Republican consultant who has served on more than a dozen presidential campaigns, praised the early outlines of Trump’s 2024 team, calling it “the gold standard of Republican consulting.”
“The quality of the team is evident,” Maloney said. “Now, will Trump listen to them?”
Isaac Arnsdorf contributed to this report.