Donald Trump’s newly announced chief of staff, Susie Wiles, is a longtime Republican strategist, but she also has close ties to the NFL.
Wiles, 67, was elected Thursday to the incoming Trump administration and will be the first woman to serve as chief of staff after managing his successful campaign.
However, the hiring of Wiles is also notable due to his connection to the world of sports, as his late father, Pat Summerall, was a well-known broadcaster and former NFL player.
The former kicker, who played for the Lions, Cardinals and Giants, called 16 Super Bowls on television and formed a long-running on-air partnership with John Madden.
Summerall also called 27 Masters golf tournaments and 21 US Opens tennis tournaments, among many other major events, when he was included in the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2010.
Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, brings Susie Wiles to the podium at an election night watch party
Wiles is the daughter of the late Pat Summerall (left), who formed a long-standing partnership with John Madden calling NFL games.
Summerall was also honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1994, receiving the Pete Rozelle Award for Radio and Television.
He died in 2013 at the age of 82.
His daughter, at least until now, is less known as she largely avoided the spotlight during Trump’s re-election campaign.
However, he is widely credited inside and outside Trump’s inner circle for running what was his most disciplined and best-executed campaign.
‘Susie is tough, smart, innovative and universally admired and respected. “Susie will continue to work tirelessly to make America great again,” Trump said in a statement.
‘It is a well-deserved honor to have Susie as the first female Chief of Staff in American history. “I have no doubt she will make our country proud.”
Summerall was a kicker for the Giants (seen above), Lions and Cardinals for 10 seasons.
Wiles, 67, will become the first woman to serve as chief of staff in US history.
Wiles is a longtime Florida-based Republican strategist who managed Trump’s campaigns in the state in 2016 and 2020.
Before that, he managed Rick Scott’s campaign for Florida governor in 2010 and briefly served as manager of former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman’s 2012 presidential campaign.
Successful chiefs of staff serve as confidants to the president, help execute the president’s agenda, and balance competing political and policy priorities.
They also tend to act as gatekeepers, helping to determine who the president spends time with and who he talks to, an effort that irritated Trump inside the White House.
