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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Trump names campaign spokespeople to top White House communications
roles
By Kit Maher, Michael Williams and Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN
Updated:
9:55 PM EST, Fri November 15, 2024
Source: CNN
President-elect Donald Trump on Friday elevated two of his campaign’s
spokespeople to top communications roles in his incoming
administration.
Trump named his campaign’s spokesman, Steven Cheung, as his White
House communications director. His campaign’s national press
secretary, Karoline Leavitt, will be White House press secretary, he
said Friday evening.
The position of communications director is separate from the role of
press secretary, though people have served in both roles simultaneously
in the past.
Cheung will also serve as assistant to the president. During Trump’s
first term, he was director of strategic response. Cheung has been long
known as a pugilistic defender of Trump, but his role has primarily
been behind the cameras. He is active on social media, though, where he
remains a vociferous defender of his boss.
Cheung assumes a position that saw unusual turnover during Trump’s
first term. During that term, six different people held that title
under seven different stints. None lasted more than a year.
Anthony Scaramucci infamously lasted in the post for only 11 days
during Trump’s first term. and another White House communications
director, Stephanie Grisham, have since broken from their former boss.
Prior to working on Trump’s first campaign, Cheung was a spokesman
for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The ties between the UFC and
president-elect are strong; Trump frequently sits ringside at UFC
fights, and UFC President and CEO Dana White is a longtime friend of
Trump’s who spoke at the Republican National Convention this summer.
Cheung handled Trump’s communications during several newsworthy
incidents during the campaign, including the aftermath of an alleged
incident at Arlington National Cemetery, where an apparent
confrontation between a cemetery worker and members of Trump’s
campaign from the Army. Cheung promised to release video showing that
confrontation but never did.
Leavitt currently serves as the Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman. She
consistently defended Trump on the campaign trail and in recent days
has rolled out a flurry of announcements from the president-elect
naming staff and Cabinet picks – many of them controversial – for
his incoming administration.
Leavitt herself is no stranger to the White House, having worked as an
assistant press secretary during Trump’s first term. She will join a
communications shop that was previously known for its significant
turnover and .
Trump’s press secretary role was held – for various lengths of time
– by Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Scaramucci, Grisham and
Kayleigh McEnany during his first administration.
“Thank you, President Trump, for believing in me. I am humbled and
honored. Let’s MAGA!” Leavitt .
“Karoline is smart, tough, and has proven to be a highly effective
communicator,” Trump said in a statement Friday. “I have the utmost
confidence she will excel at the podium, and help deliver our message
to the American People as we, Make America Great Again.”
Following the 2020 election, Leavitt worked as communications director
for New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, who Trump recently named as his pick
for US ambassador to the United Nations. In 2022, Leavitt mounted an
unsuccessful , winning the GOP nomination in a crowded primary but
eventually losing to Democratic incumbent Rep. Chris Pappas.
The Trump transition team also announced on Friday that Trump ally
Sergio Gor will serve as assistant to the president, as well as the
director of presidential personnel. CNN that Gor was tapped for the
director of presidential personnel position.
“Steven Cheung and Sergio Gor have been trusted Advisors since my
first Presidential Campaign in 2016, and have continued to champion
America First principles throughout my First Term, all the way to our
Historic Victory in 2024,” Trump said in a statement. “I am
thrilled to have them join my White House as we, Make America Great
Again!”
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
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