President-elect Donald Trump named Steven Cheung to be the White House communications director in his second term, elevating the longtime press aide after Cheung has reliably adopted the president-elect’s combative tone in public statements and denounced Trump’s political rivals.
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung speaks at a press conference during former President Donald ... [+]
Trump announced Cheung’s appointment Friday, with the president-elect describing Cheung and fellow nominee Sergio Gor—tapped to lead the Presidential Personnel Office—in a statement as “trusted Advisors since my first Presidential Campaign in 2016” who “have continued to champion America First principles.”
Cheung first joined Trump during his 2016 campaign and then became director of rapid response during Trump’s first presidency, leaving the White House in 2018 and creating a private firm that worked with Trump on his 2020 campaign.
Cheung served as director of communications in Trump’s latest presidential campaign, issuing many statements on behalf of the campaign and attacking Trump’s enemies in the same fiery tone the president-elect is known for, decrying Trump’s criminal cases as “witch hunts” and once saying in a statement to Forbes of President Joe Biden, “He can barely put two coherent sentences together and slowly shuffles around like he has a full diaper in his pants, often falling on his ass in front of the world.”
Prior to joining Trump’s 2016 campaign, Cheung led communications for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and between Trump’s 2020 and 2024 campaigns worked with other Republicans, including Caitlyn Jenner as she unsuccessfully ran for California governor, according to The New Yorker.
While he’s publicly known for his extreme rhetoric, The New Yorker notes Cheung is largely respected among press who have dealt with him and is regarded privately as a “pretty nice guy,” with Trump reportedly referring to him as “my sumo wrestler.”
Cheung will “do whatever Trump says,” an unnamed campaign reporter told The New Yorker in March. “There are lines that are crossed that delight Trump but wouldn’t get you a job elsewhere. Cheung isn’t thinking beyond Trump.”
Cheung’s role is not subject to Senate confirmation, so Cheung will be able to immediately start serving when Trump takes office on Jan. 20. The main public-facing speaker of the administration, the White House press secretary, is a separate role and Trump’s choice has not yet been announced.
Cheung is one of several key Trump allies who have ties to UFC, as the president-elect is also a fan of the fighting organization and professional wrestling. UFC President Dana White is a longtime Trump ally whom the president-elect even asked to take the microphone and speak right after the election was called for Trump last week. “No one deserves this more,” White said. Podcaster and UFC commentator Joe Rogan also endorsed Trump in the late days of the election, after Trump appeared on his podcast.
Cheung is one of several aides involved with Trump’s third campaign who have been elevated to administration roles, with Trump also naming campaign manager Susie Wiles as his White House chief of staff, and the president-elect has also tapped other well-known—and controversial—allies like naming Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary, Fox News host Pete Hegseth as defense secretary and former Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general. Cheung will take up the communications post after Trump went through several communications directors and four press secretaries during his first term—Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Stephanie Grisham and Kayleigh McEnany—and as the incoming president and his allies have continued to attack the mainstream press. Some of Trump’s allies have suggested the incoming Trump administration could retaliate against the press for its critical coverage of Trump, with former Trump aide Kash Patel—a rumored pick for FBI director—saying ahead of the election that a second Trump administration would go after people “not just in government but in the media.”
Trump’s Cabinet: Pence Speaks Against RFK Jr Nomination To HHS (Forbes)
The Face of Donald Trump's Deceptively Savvy Media Strategy (The New Yorker)
How Trump’s 2024 Campaign Became a Bloody Cage Fight (Mother Jones)
Meet Donald Trump’s ‘sumo wrestler’ spokesman, Steven Cheung (South China Morning Post)