Two months before Election Day 2020, Susie Wiles stood uncomfortably inside a hospitality tent in Florida, caught between two proud and exacting men whom she had helped elect: President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis was not thrilled to see her.
A year earlier, Wiles had been one of the most powerful people in the Florida governor’s orbit, leading his political operation and plotting his path to national prominence. Then he abruptly banished her, privately questioning her loyalty and moving to blackball her across Republican politics.
So when Trump and Wiles, his top Florida adviser, saw the governor inside the tent at a joint event, Trump proposed a détente.
“Shake hands,” he instructed them, according to two people with direct knowledge of the exchange.
They did not. Both parties looked miserable and said little before walking off.
Less than three years later, Wiles, 65, has ascended to become perhaps the most significant voice inside Trump’s third presidential campaign.
