America Last
How Susie Wiles Keeps Trump Aligned with Corporate Interests
Susie Wiles has become the defining force in the Trump White House, but because of her, Trump has shifted away from the “America First” rhetoric that won him the election. Wiles represents the full embrace of “corporate first” priorities, the values and networks of power that shape Washington not by the will of ordinary citizens, but by the moneyed ambitions of lobbyists, industry titans, and foreign governments who have learned exactly how to win her ear.
Her mornings begin at the transition headquarters in West Palm Beach, where she plots the day’s maneuvers with an icy discipline that has earned her the moniker “Ice Maiden.” Adversaries and allies alike acknowledge that real access to Trump now passes only through her. She orchestrates meetings, manages the flow of information, and strategically shields the president from disruptive influences, unless, of course, those influences arrive with deep pockets and well-placed friends. Wiles’s professional legacy is steeped in corporate lobbying. She served as a top executive with Mercury Public Affairs and Ballard Partners, two firms that now play outsized roles in the global influence game. Her record includes representing industries like tobacco, energy, mining, and health care, her prowess not in championing public interest, but in shaping policy for the benefit of those who can pay for the privilege. Even after taking her post in the White House, her former colleagues and clients seamlessly made the leap to proximity and influence, with firms she led now at the front of the line for meetings and favors.
The workings of Washington’s influence industry are on full display in the Trump administration’s relationship with Pakistan. Rather than taking the traditional route of diplomacy, Pakistan has tapped into complex advocacy networks populated by firms with deep roots in both Trump’s world and Susie Wiles’s professional history. This is characterized by a rapid hiring of prominent public affairs and legal consultancies which reflects a sophisticated campaign to ensure access to the highest levels of the White House and key executive branches. Names like Mercury Public Affairs and Squire Patton Boggs stand out; both firms are known not just for representing Pakistani interests, but also for their extensive work on behalf of Israeli organizations, from state-linked projects to Israel-focused policy groups.
This dual representation highlights a distinctive model where many of the most influential lobbying entities in D.C. operate with diverse portfolios, championing the priorities of governments that, in other arenas, might be strategic rivals. Through figures like Susie Wiles who held senior roles at Mercury Public Affairs and cultivated a career at the intersection of corporate and international advocacy, these networks gain privileged channels into the administration. The same infrastructure that advances Pakistani narratives on trade, security partnerships, or energy access is regularly activated for Israeli causes, coordinating meetings, briefings, and policy outreach designed to sway outcomes at the presidential level.
Wiles’s brand of politics has made the highest levels of American government a marketplace for access, where decisions are streamlined for those who understand money and not for the millions who believed in a populist realignment for a better America. The ideals of reform, renewal, and American priority have faded behind the gleaming machinery of corporate appointments, lobbying contracts, and transactional diplomacy.
In Susie Wiles, the Trump presidency has found its most effective steward. But she is steward not of “America First,” but of the old Washington game, harder and more lucrative than ever. Her legacy will be a White House run with ruthless efficiency for the benefit of those able to pay the toll, leaving behind the slogans for those outside, still looking in.