Steven Cheung (political advisor) explained

Term Start:January 20, 2025
Status:Designate
President:Donald Trump
Succeeding:Ben LaBolt
Steven Cheung
Birth Name:Huyen Cheung
Birth Date:23 June 1982
Birth Place:Sacramento, California, U.S
Party:Republican
Education:California State University, Sacramento (BA)

Huyen "Steven" Cheung (born June 23, 1982) is an American political advisor serving as President-elect Donald Trump's campaign spokesman in the 2024 United States presidential election.[1] [2] He previously worked in Trump's 2016 and 2020 campaigns. He also worked in communications for the sports organization Ultimate Fighting Championship based in Las Vegas, Nevada.[3] [4]

In November 2024, he was named White House Communications Director for the incoming Donald Trump administration.[5]

Early life

Cheung was born in Sacramento, California, to Chinese parents who had immigrated to the U.S. and was raised in Sacramento.[6] [7] He was a high school football player.[8] He attended California State University, Sacramento, majoring in computer science and political science.[6]

Career

Political campaigns and UFC

As a college student in 2003, Cheung became an intern in then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's communications and speechwriting office in California.[9] [10] He moved to Washington, D.C. in 2008 to work on John McCain's presidential campaign.[11] [12] Cheung has served on the campaigns of Steve Poizner for California governor, Sharron Angle for U.S. Senate, and Texas Lt. Governor David Dewhurst for U.S. Senate.[13] In 2013, Cheung transitioned into a career with the Ultimate Fighting Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he worked as "a director of communications for public affairs at the UFC".[14] He was involved in the UFC practice of banning reporters critical of the organization from live events.[15]

Trump 2016 campaign and transition

Before then-candidate Donald Trump was nominated as the Republican presidential nominee at the Republican National Convention in 2016, Cheung left his job at the UFC and joined the Trump campaign's communications and press team as Director of Rapid Response.[16] [3] His duties included "keeping the campaign up to date on breaking news and pushing back on false or unbalanced reporting" according to a press release.[17]

Cheung was involved in a statement disavowing support from the Ku Klux Klan and a white supremacist newspaper, who endorsed Trump's campaign. He said, "Mr. Trump and the campaign denounces hate in any form. This publication is repulsive and their views do not represent the tens of millions of Americans who are uniting behind our campaign."[18]

After Trump's victory over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, Cheung was named as an advisor to the presidential transition team.[19] [20] [21] According to media reports, he was at one point considered for the role of White House Press Secretary.[22] That job ultimately went to Sean Spicer.[23]

Trump White House

Cheung was named as Special Assistant to the President and Assistant Communications Director at the White House on January 19, 2017, one day prior to Trump's inauguration.[2] He was part of a team tasked with helping nominate and confirm Neil Gorsuch to the United States Supreme Court. Gorsuch was eventually confirmed to the Supreme Court by the United States Senate by a 54–45 vote.[24] Shortly after Gorsuch's confirmation, Cheung assumed a different position at the White House.[25]

On August 16, 2017, Cheung was appointed as Special Assistant to the President and Director of Strategic Response.[26] He then worked on the passage of Trump's tax reform bill, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.[27] The bill successfully passed Congress and Trump signed it into law on December 22, 2017.[28]

According to the book Sinking in the Swamp: How Trump's Minions and Misfits Poisoned Washington, Cheung, along with three others, were referred to as "the killers" in the White House by Jared Kushner and Stephen Bannon. They were considered by Bannon to be "innovative and action oriented".[29]

On June 11, 2018, Politico reported Cheung left the White House,[7] amid a contentious period with Chief of Staff John F. Kelly making changes to Trump's White House communications staff. Amid leaks and infighting, Kelly overhauled the communications team, which led to additional departures.[24] It was later revealed that Cheung's annual White House salary was $131,000.[30] Cheung later appeared in a contentious interview with CNN on June 28, 2018, where critics accused him of politicizing the confirmation process of the United States Supreme Court.[31]

Trump 2020 campaign

Politico reported that President Trump's 2020 re-election campaign retained the services of the firm Solgence, which is owned and operated by Cheung.[32] As part of the 2020 campaign, Cheung worked on putting together the Republican National Convention in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.[33]

After the 2020 US presidential election, in which Trump was defeated by Joe Biden, Cheung was involved in the Trump campaign's efforts to overturn the election. Despite Trump's claims, according to experts, there has been no evidence of election fraud.[34] [35] [36] [37]

Post-Trump presidency

Cheung was named the spokesman of the Trump 2024 presidential campaign. After Trump was criticized in October 2023 for his statement that undocumented immigrants were "poisoning the blood of our country," echoing language of white supremacists and Adolf Hitler, Cheung responded:

After Trump was criticized in November 2023 for referring to his political opponents as "vermin", Cheung said:

Cheung was a senior advisor on the 2022 U.S. Senate campaign of former Missouri Governor Eric Greitens, who resigned amid allegations of sexual assault and campaign finance impropriety.[38] [39]

Axios reported that Cheung joined as senior advisor to reality star Caitlyn Jenner's unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in California during the 2021 recall election.[10]

Cheung also served as an advisor and spokesperson for former congressman Jim Renacci's 2022 campaign for Ohio governor.[40]

Media outlets reported in 2022 that Cheung began advising cryptocurrency entrepreneur and philanthropist Brock Pierce, a former child star linked to Jeffrey Epstein and the DEN collapse & financial & sex scandal.[41] [42]

Arlington National Cemetery incident

On August 27, 2024, an incident occurred at Arlington National Cemetery in which two Trump staffers, Justin Caporale and Michel Picard, shoved a cemetery employee who was trying to stop the Trump team from photographing and video recording a campaign promotion in a heavily restricted area of the cemetery known as Section 60, a burial site that is primarily reserved for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. A federal law prohibits the use of U.S. military facilities, cemeteries in particular, for political campaigns.

Cheung claimed the woman was "suffering from a mental health episode," which military officials said was false. He alleged the cemetery employee "initiated physical contact that was unwarranted and unnecessary" and said the campaign would release video to support its account, which it never did. The cemetery employee filed an incident report with military officials, but declined to press charges, fearing retribution from Trump supporters. Cheung characterized that concern as "ridiculous and sounds like someone who has Trump Derangement Syndrome". The Trump campaign posted a TikTok video of the visit the next day, during which Trump is heard criticizing the Biden-Harris administration for the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.[43] [44] [45] [46] [47]

MAGA Inc.

As of 2023, Cheung was the communications director of Trump's MAGA Inc. super PAC.[48] [49] [50] [51] [52] [53] [54]

References

  1. News: Vigdor . Neil . June 18, 2023 . In Nevada, DeSantis Sells Republicans on Ending 'Culture of Losing' . en-US . . June 19, 2023 . 0362-4331.
  2. President-Elect Donald J. Trump Announces Second Wave of Additional White House Staff . February 17, 2022. The American Presidency Project.
  3. Web site: Flood. Brian. July 11, 2016. Donald Trump Hires UFC Executive as He Gears Up for Fight Against Hillary Clinton. February 17, 2022. en-US.
  4. Web site: Durkee . Alison . Who Is Steven Cheung? What To Know About Trump's Incoming Communications Director . 2024-11-18 . Forbes.
  5. Web site: Trump to tap campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung as communications director . politico.com. November 15, 2024. Meridith. McGraw. Rachael. Bade.
  6. Sokolove . Michael . How Trump's 2024 campaign became a bloody cage fight . 2024-05-22 . Mother Jones.
  7. News: April 26, 2024 . Meet Donald Trump's 'sumo wrestler' campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung . May 22, 2024 . South China Morning Post.
  8. Sokolove . Michael . How Trump's 2024 campaign became a bloody cage fight . May 22, 2024 . Mother Jones.
  9. Web site: BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Steven Cheung, senior communications adviser for the Trump reelect. August 29, 2024. Politico. June 23, 2020 . en.
  10. Web site: Lachlan . Markay . Alayna . Treene . Jonathan . Swan. Caitlyn Jenner files paperwork to run for governor of California. February 17, 2022. Axios. April 23, 2021 . en.
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  23. Web site: December 22, 2016 . Trump names Sean Spicer press secretary, announces other senior members of his press team . May 19, 2022 . . en.
  24. Web site: Karni. Annie. White House aide Steven Cheung leaves communications staff. February 17, 2022. Politico. June 11, 2018 . en.
  25. Web site: Estepa . Jessica . Hope Hicks is officially the White House communications director . May 21, 2022 . . en-US.
  26. Web site: September 13, 2017. Political power plays. February 17, 2022. Axios. en.
  27. Web site: Sanchez. Luis. June 11, 2018. White House communications aide Steven Cheung leaves position: report. February 17, 2022. The Hill. en.
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  40. Web site: Ball. Brian. August 18, 2021. Renacci Asks Ohio Attorney General, Secretary of State to Investigate Sources of DeWine Campaign Cash. February 17, 2022. The Ohio Star. en-US.
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  45. Web site: Haberman . Maggie . August 27, 2024 . Trump Team Clashed with Official at Arlington National Cemetery . August 30, 2024 . The New York Times.
  46. Web site: Haberman . Maggie . August 28, 2024 . Trump Videos at Grave Dismay Family of Green Beret Buried at Arlington . August 30, 2024 . The New York Times.
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