Based on current polling, Donald Trump is the heavy favorite to be the Republican nominee for president in the 2024 election. The former president faces a number of indictments and court cases around the nation as he continues his campaign, but his popularity among Republican voters has remained high, and recent head-to-head polls have indicated that he might be favored to unseat president Joe Biden in the national election next November.
While Trump generally takes center stage at any appearance he makes, and he’s known for, at times, trusting his own gut and opinion ahead of those of expert advisors, he still has a large staff supporting his presidential run.
The top offshore sportsbooks are offering great bets on politics, so here’s a look at the key figures—both inside and outside the campaign—in Trump’s 2024 run before you place your wagers.
The Insiders
As opposed to one campaign manager, Trump has four people who all have the title of “senior advisor” in his campaign.
Brian Jack
A former employee of the Republican National Committee and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Jack originally was an advisor on Ben Carson’s 2016 presidential campaign. When Carson dropped out, Jack was hired by Trump as the national delegate management director. That meant his job was to put Trump-friendly delegates in key positions at the national convention and make sure that delegates opposing him weren’t able to organize large demonstrations on the floor.
Following Trump’s election, he served as special assistant to the president and Deputy White House Political Director before getting promoted to White House Director of Political Affairs. After Trump left office, Jack worked with Kevin McCarthy and helped McCarthy and the Republicans get a House majority that led to McCarthy’s brief tenure as Speaker. He was subpoenaed over his role in the January 6 insurrection.
He reached out to members of Congress to try to get them to speak at the rally that culminated with the crowd storming the Capitol.
Susie Wiles
The daughter of longtime NFL announcer Pat Summerall, Wiles has been called “the most powerful Republican you don’t know”. She began working in politics with Jack Kemp in 1979 and also worked on Reagan’s 1980 campaign. She has worked for campaigns for presidential candidates as well as governor and mayor races in Florida.
In 2016, she was the Florida co-chair for the Trump campaign and also helped Ron DeSantis get elected governor that year. After DeSantis and Trump’s relationship soured, the president fired Wiles from his 2020 reelection campaign. She returned to Trump a little over a year later and was described as his “chief of staff” as he tried to influence the 2022 midterm elections. She will play a key role in Trump’s classified document case, due to allegations that he showed her a map that she didn’t have clearance to see.
Chris LaCivita
A veteran of the first Gulf War, LaCivita has been involved in political campaigns since the 1990s, beginning with candidates from Virginia, including managing successful campaigns for house and senate seats as well as the governor’s race. He was a consultant for the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, who helped derail John Kerry’s presidential bid in 2004 with a series of ads, and he advised Rand Paul’s 2016 presidential campaign. When Paul bowed out, LaCivita worked with the Republican National Committee on delegate selection for the 2016 convention.
Jason Miller
A longtime consultant and advisor to political campaigns, Miller was hired by Trump in 2016 after Ted Cruz dropped out. He had been communications and digital advisor for the Cruz campaign. Trump brought him onboard as a senior communications advisor. When Trump was considering a run in 2012, Miller was slated to manage his campaign. Miller was the communications director during the transition after the election, but a series of scandals kept him from getting the job after Trump took office. He was also a senior advisor during the 2020 reelection campaign.
Steven Cheung
The only one of the five not titled “senior advisor”, Cheung is Trump’s communications director. He has previously worked for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and was the director of communications for the UFC. He has worked on the communications team for both of Trump’s previous presidential campaign as well as during Trump’s term in the White House.
Outsiders
Trump also is known for taking counsel of a number of people who are not directly employed by his campaign. In the past, these have included high-profile media figures such as Steve Bannon, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham.
Obviously, longtime Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani is an ally as well, although many of his casual advisors are currently embroiled in some of the legal trouble surrounding the former president and may not be able to fill a similar role in the 2024 campaign, either officially or unofficially.
