Simone Lawson
Former US President Donald Trump has had several campaign managers over the years. In 2015, Trump hired Corey Lewandowski as his campaign manager. In 2016, Paul Manafort was hired as his convention manager, and Steve Bannon as his chief executive. Bannon's approach to political reporting was described as embracing fringe beliefs. Trump's 2020 campaign manager was Brad Parscale, who was later replaced by Bill Stepien. In 2024, Trump's co-campaign managers were Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles.
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What You'll Learn
Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita are Trump's 2024 co-campaign managers
Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita are co-campaign managers for Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. Wiles, a well-regarded Florida strategist, has worked in Republican politics for over four decades. She first worked with Trump in 2015 as Florida co-chair of his 2016 campaign, helping him win the state against Hillary Clinton. Wiles also served as a senior advisor to Trump's 2020 re-election campaign and as CEO of the Save America Leadership PAC, Trump's leadership PAC.
LaCivita, a former U.S. Marine, is a veteran Republican operative. He was awarded the Purple Heart in 1991 for wounds suffered in the Gulf War. LaCivita has worked on several state and federal campaigns, including Kentucky Senator Rand Paul's 2016 presidential bid and Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson's 2022 re-election campaign. After Paul dropped out of the 2016 race, LaCivita joined the Republican National Committee and helped secure Trump's nomination. He later ran a pro-Trump super PAC during the 2020 presidential race and joined Make America Great Again Inc. as a strategist before being hired by Trump's campaign in late 2022.
Wiles and LaCivita's roles as co-campaign managers involve overseeing all aspects of the campaign, including staff hiring, budget, travel, and ensuring Trump's message reaches the target audience. They are part of a tight-knit inner circle of loyal aides who have helped propel Trump to the forefront of the Republican Party's White House contest.
Trump's 2024 campaign issues include mass deportation of illegal immigrants, an "America First" foreign policy agenda, repealing the Affordable Care Act, an anti-clean energy platform, and pursuing anti-transgender policies. His campaign has been described as embracing right-wing populism and authoritarian rhetoric, with some accusing him of fascist ideals. Trump has also faced legal issues, with four criminal indictments filed against him in 2023 and a civil investigation into his alleged improper handling of classified documents.
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Corey Lewandowski was Trump's 2015 campaign manager
Corey R. Lewandowski, an American political operative, lobbyist, political commentator, and author, was Donald Trump's 2015 campaign manager. Lewandowski was the first campaign manager of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. He was hired in February 2015, six months before Trump announced his campaign. Lewandowski's salary was $20,000 per month (approximately $25,138 in 2023).
Lewandowski's motto as Trump's campaign manager was "Let Trump be Trump", which appeared on his office whiteboard. He explained his role as:
> "I used to liken my role to being a jockey on a great racehorse... My job was to maybe drive that horse into the corners a little bit and put some blinders on, but you gotta let it run."
Lewandowski's approach helped Trump win the Republican nomination, but it also irked many in the party, as well as some on the Trump team itself. Lewandowski was fired from the campaign in June 2016. He later became a political commentator for CNN and, in December 2016, he opened a lobbying firm in Washington. Lewandowski has also worked for Fox News and One America News Network (OANN).
Lewandowski has been described as "too controversial even for Trump". He has a record of feuding with others close to the president and creating controversy. Lewandowski was denied an official role in the Department of Homeland Security and was removed from the pro-Trump super PAC Make America Great Again Action after a reporter accused him of grabbing her arm at a 2016 Trump event. Lewandowski has also been accused of stalking and making unwanted sexual advances towards a prominent Republican donor's wife.
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Paul Manafort was hired in March 2016
In March 2016, Donald Trump hired Paul Manafort as his convention manager. Manafort had worked in presidential politics since the 1976 Republican convention, and his appointment signalled a shift towards more established consultants. By the New York primary elections in April 19, Manafort had taken on an expanded role in the campaign, helping to hire former Scott Walker campaign manager Rick Wiley, as well as former Chris Christie campaign manager Ken McKay.
Manafort's role in the campaign changed in August 2016 when Trump hired Steve Bannon as his chief executive and promoted Kellyanne Conway to the role of campaign manager. Conway, a longtime pollster and analyst of young and female voters, was the closest Trump's campaign came to a traditional pollster and data analyst. Manafort resigned on August 19, two days after Bannon joined the campaign. Bannon's approach to political reporting was described as "'happy to embrace fringe beliefs", contrasting with Manafort's previous efforts to work with established consultants.
Prior to Manafort's hiring, Trump's campaign had been characterised by a small staff that did not come from the traditional consultant class in the Republican Party. Trump's initial staffing involved only a handful of key advisors, including longtime Trump advisor Roger Stone. Trump's first campaign manager was Corey Lewandowski, hired in February 2015. Lewandowski came from Americans for Prosperity, a 501(c)(4) organisation associated with David and Charles Koch, as did a number of early staffers.
In 2024, Trump's campaign managers were Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles. Wiles, a well-regarded Florida strategist, has worked in Republican politics for over four decades. She previously worked as deputy director of scheduling for Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign and as scheduler for Reagan during his first year in office.
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Steve Bannon was hired in August 2016
In August 2016, Steve Bannon was appointed chief executive of Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Bannon left Breitbart, the Government Accountability Institute, and Cambridge Analytica to take the job. Bannon's approach to political reporting was described by CBS News as "happy to embrace fringe beliefs," which contrasted with the previous campaign manager Paul Manafort's efforts to work with established consultants.
Bannon was a top adviser to Trump and a key architect of Trump's first-term agenda. He was also a right-wing media personality who became a Trump adviser. Bannon was a co-founder of the Government Accountability Institute, a tax-exempt organization that created fact-based indictments against politicians. The organization is registered as nonpartisan but mainly investigates alleged corruption within the Democratic Party.
Bannon's influence was so great that a Time magazine headline asked: "Is Steve Bannon the Second Most Powerful Man in the World?" Bannon was one of Trump's closest confidants during the 2016 presidential campaign and in the White House the following year. However, Bannon left his post in August 2017 after reported power struggles with Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, as well as other high-level Trump advisers. Trump had also reportedly grown weary of Bannon taking credit for his election victory.
Bannon has since been indicted on charges of money laundering, fraud, and conspiracy, accused of cheating donors to a private fundraiser designed to help build a wall on the US-Mexico border.
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Brad Parscale was Trump's 2020 campaign manager until July 2020
Brad Parscale, an American digital consultant, media executive, and political advisor, was Donald Trump's 2020 campaign manager from February 2018 until July 2020. Parscale was born on January 3, 1976, and began working for the Trump Organization in 2011, developing and designing websites and creating and managing digital media strategies. In early 2015, Trump hired Parscale and his firm, Giles-Parscale, to create a website for his exploratory campaign. When Trump declared himself a Republican candidate in 2015, Parscale was tasked with updating the exploratory campaign site into a full-fledged presidential campaign website. Parscale previously served as the digital media director for Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
Parscale's role as Trump's 2020 campaign manager ended in July 2020, when he was replaced by Bill Stepien. Parscale's departure from the role was partly due to questioned spending decisions, including over $800,000 spent on boosting his social media pages and $39 million paid to two companies owned by the wives of Trump's sons. Parscale's predictions for the size of a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in June 2020, were also criticized as being "spectacularly incorrect."
In September 2020, Parscale stepped away from his company and the Trump campaign, citing the need to focus on his family and manage overwhelming stress. Following his removal as campaign manager, Parscale criticized the Trump campaign's strategy. Parscale was the only one of Trump's first four campaign managers to give Trump's campaign a maximum contribution for the 2020 election.
In 2020, Susie Wiles served as a senior advisor to Trump's re-election campaign. Wiles was a co-campaign manager for Trump's 2024 campaign and previously worked as Florida co-chair of his 2016 campaign. Wiles has been active in Republican Party politics since 1979 and has worked on various political campaigns and staff.
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Frequently asked questions
Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita were Donald Trump's co-campaign managers for his 2024 presidential campaign.
Brad Parscale was Trump's campaign manager for his 2020 presidential campaign from February 2018 until July 2020 when he was replaced by Bill Stepien.
Corey Lewandowski was hired as Trump's 2016 campaign manager in February 2015. In March 2016, Trump hired Paul Manafort as his convention manager. Manafort's position changed in August 2016 when Trump hired Steve Bannon as his chief executive and promoted Kellyanne Conway to the role of campaign manager.
