Trump appoints ‘Ice Baby’ in first major move since winning back the White House
Washington: US President-elect Donald Trump has picked a Florida grandmother and political operative he affectionately calls “Ice Baby” to be his chief of staff, marking the first time a woman has held that position in the White House.
As demoralised Democrats began the blame game over Kamala Harris’ crushing defeat, Trump made his first major staffing appointment, tapping his loyal campaign co-chair Susie Wiles to be the gatekeeper to his office when he returns to Washington.
Susie Wiles with Donald Trump.Credit: AP
“Susie Wiles just helped me achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history, and was an integral part of both my 2016 and 2020 successful campaigns,” Trump said in a statement, adding that she was “universally admired and respected”.
Trump’s appointment comes as Department of Homeland Security officials prepare for a seismic shift in immigration policy after Trump promised during the campaign that his “day one” priority would be to embark on the biggest mass deportation program in history to get rid of undocumented immigrants.
Pressed about the cost of the plan in an interview with NBC, Trump on Friday (AEDT) said “there is no price tag” for the policy, which is expected to affect about 11 million people now living in America and to stretch government resources to find, round up and process undocumented immigrants.
Donald Trump, speaking on the Mexico border in August, has vowed to deport millions of immigrants.Credit: AP
Research by the American Immigration Council suggests the cost of a one-time mass deportation program would have a “devastating” price tag of at least $US315 billion ($474 billion).
Trump also made many other vague, populist promises on the campaign trail, from ending the war in Ukraine and building a missile defence shield over the US to banning transgender athletes from women’s sports and imposing tariffs of between 25 and 100 per cent on Mexico, a major trading partner, “if they don’t stop this onslaught of criminals and drugs coming into our country”.
His uncosted promises nonetheless had widespread appeal and Trump is now the first convicted felon to win the White House.
Speaking for the first time since Harris’ loss, President Joe Biden urged Democrats to “keep the faith” and vowed to ensure a peaceful transfer of power.
“Something I hope we can do, no matter who you voted for, is see each other not as adversaries but as fellow Americans, bring down the temperature,” Biden said in an address to the nation on Thursday (Friday AEDT).
President Joe Biden spoke at the White House following Donald Trump’s election victory.Credit: AP
“I also hope we can lay to rest the question about the integrity of the American electoral system,” Biden said. “It is honest, it is fair, and it is transparent.”
The appointment of Wiles, a 67-year-old grandmother and a former senior adviser to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, will be a defining test of Trump’s incoming administration. Trump has less than 75 days to build out his team before Inauguration Day on January 20.
The under-the-radar Wiles is affectionately referred to by Trump as “Ice Baby” or “Ice Maiden” and is known within his orbit as someone who is loyal and who understands how he operates.
Part of the transition involves filling thousands of government positions and cabinet roles. Some of the names touted include Elon Musk as a potential government efficiency adviser; vaccine sceptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr in a health advisory role; New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik (UN ambassador) and senator Marco Rubio (secretary of state).
Susie Wiles watches as Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania earlier this week.Credit: AP
Speaking on Fox News, Trump’s son, Don Jr, said he would be “heavily involved” in the presidential transition, “now that we know who the real players are, the people who will actually deliver on the president’s message”.
Votes are still being counted but Trump has so far won five out of the seven key battleground states, helping Republicans win control of the Senate. He may also win the popular vote.
The massive victory has sparked a wave of finger-pointing within the Democrats, which progressive senator Bernie Sanders said had “abandoned working-class people”.
“First, it was the white working class, and now it is Latino and black workers as well,” Sanders said in a statement. “While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change. And they’re right.”
Others blame Biden for not standing aside sooner, which they claim would have given Harris time to make a winning case.
However, Philadelphia Democratic chair and former congressman Bob Brady disagreed, telling his local TV network: “I think we would have been better with Joe Biden.
“And now to blame him, to actually have somebody blaming him for her loss … How about the candidate?”
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