Trump Names Susie Wiles as Chief of Staff, Signals Diplomatic Shake-Up with G20 Boycott
Washington, D.C. – November 8, 2025
In a move underscoring stability and continuity for his incoming administration, President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Susie Wiles, his trusted co-campaign chair and veteran Florida strategist, as White House Chief of Staff. The selection, announced late Thursday, positions Wiles—a low-profile powerhouse credited with steering Trump’s 2024 victory—as the gatekeeper for the next White House, marking her as the first woman in the role.
Wiles, 68, brings a wealth of experience from decades in Republican politics, including key roles in Trump’s 2016 Florida win, Ron DeSantis’ 2018 gubernatorial campaign, and his own 2020 and 2024 presidential bids. Trump praised her as “tough, smart, innovative, and universally admired,” emphasizing her ability to professionalize his often-chaotic operations and minimize internal drama that plagued his first term. A soft-spoken grandmother and daughter of legendary NFL broadcaster Pat Summerall, Wiles has earned a reputation for her sharp acumen and unflinching loyalty, navigating Trump’s unpredictable style with a steady hand. Colleagues like co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita have hailed her as the “loyal and honest” force who assembled the winning team, reducing leaks and infighting to deliver a disciplined campaign.
The appointment signals Trump’s intent to maintain the core of his transition team into the administration, avoiding the revolving door of chiefs of staff—four in his first term—that led to operational turmoil. Wiles, who lacks recent Washington experience but served in the Reagan-era Labor Department and as a White House scheduler, will oversee policy implementation, congressional relations, and the daily grind of executive affairs without needing Senate confirmation. Analysts see her as a stabilizing influence amid potential clashes between MAGA loyalists, tech influencers like Elon Musk, and establishment Republicans. “She’s the one who can run a tight ship,” said Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida ally who endorsed Wiles for the post.
Yet even as Trump builds his inner circle with familiar faces, his foreign policy instincts are already making waves. In a separate bombshell announcement, the president-elect declared that the United States will fully boycott the upcoming G20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, on November 22-23, pulling all U.S. officials from the gathering. Trump, posting on Truth Social, lambasted the event as a “total disgrace,” citing alleged human rights abuses against white Afrikaner farmers, whom he claimed are being “killed and slaughtered” while their lands are “illegally confiscated.”
The decision escalates long-simmering tensions between Washington and Pretoria, rooted in South Africa’s 2025 Expropriation Act, which allows limited land seizures without compensation to address apartheid-era disparities—where white minorities still own about three-quarters of private farmland. Trump, who granted asylum to 59 white South Africans earlier this year and slashed overall refugee caps while prioritizing them, has repeatedly amplified debunked narratives of a “white genocide” in the country. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, during a May White House meeting, dismissed the claims outright, pointing to thriving white figures like golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen as counter-evidence and insisting the reforms promote equity, not persecution.
The boycott, which now includes Vice President-elect JD Vance skipping the trip he was slated to make in Trump’s stead, has drawn sharp rebukes and sparked online fervor. On X, users decried it as a “travesty of history,” with one posting, “Trump should leave America because of what his race did to blacks and red Indians. Oops, that is natural, so is Apartheid from 1948-1994.” Others highlighted its diplomatic fallout: “Trump’s boycott highlights the US’s growing isolation… underscoring BRICS’ rising influence.” Global observers warn it could isolate the U.S. at a pivotal moment for trade and climate talks, while Trump floats Miami as a 2026 host—potentially at his own golf resort.
As Trump’s transition accelerates, these developments paint a picture of an administration blending insider continuity with provocative unilateralism. Wiles’ steady hand may prove essential in steering through the controversies ahead, but the G20 snub underscores that Trump’s “America First” ethos shows no signs of softening. With inauguration looming, the world watches how this blend of loyalty and brinkmanship will reshape global alliances.
