U.S. News
The 54 Celebrities, Executives & Allies On Trump’s Close Contacts List
By CM Chaney · May 15, 2024
The list, prepared by Trump's longtime assistant and shared with White House gatekeeper Madeleine Westerhout after he assumed office in 2017, featured individuals with whom Trump either spoke frequently or desired to communicate around the time of his inauguration. Many of these contacts were people Trump had known for years, and some of them viewed him differently following his election victory.
Although the frequency of Trump's interactions with each individual on the list remains unclear, prosecutors focused on two key figures during Westerhout's questioning last week: David Pecker, the former publisher of The National Enquirer, and Michael Cohen, Trump's former fixer who has become the prosecution's star witness. Both Pecker and Cohen have testified that they played crucial roles in orchestrating the hush-money payment at the heart of the trial. Michelle Gutierrez/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK
The longtime New England Patriots coach had a note of congratulations read aloud by Trump at one of his rallies.
Mika Brzezinski
The MSNBC host had a "roller-coaster relationship" with Trump throughout his political rise, which culminated in a series of early-morning tweets attacking Brzezinski in June 2017.
Matt Calamari
A senior executive at the Trump Organization who rose through the ranks, starting as a bodyguard before eventually becoming the chief operating officer.
Peter Ward
The longtime president of the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, whose members worked in Trump-associated hotels. Bob Breidenbach / USA TODAY NETWORK
The tennis star once faced off against Trump on the court for the opening of a tennis facility at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va. During testimony in Trump's trial, a former aide claimed the two "frequently spoke."
Thomas J. Barrack Jr.
A private equity investor and close ally of Trump who also served as his adviser.
Maryanne Trump Barry
Trump's older sister, a former federal judge in New Jersey, died last year. She was pressured into an early retirement in 2019 when the Trump family's tax practices came under scrutiny.
Steve Wynn
A billionaire former casino mogul and former business rival of Trump who stepped down from his casino empire and his position as finance chair of the Republican National Committee after he was revealed to have a long history of sexual assault and harassment. Danielle Parhizkaran / USA TODAY NETWORK
The now-retired quarterback displayed a Make America Great Again hat in his locker during his time as a star for the New England Patriots.
Tom Bennison
An executive at a company that owns private golf clubs, Bennison claimed to have played more than 100 rounds of golf with Trump, according to a 2016 interview with The Dallas Morning News.
Pam Bondi
The former Florida attorney general and White House adviser was a long-time ally of Trump. The president's nonprofit foundation donated to Bondi's 2013 reelection campaign for attorney general.
Allen Weisselberg
A longtime executive at Trump's family business who pleaded guilty to perjury in another case involving Trump and is serving a five-month prison sentence. Tim Heitman / USA TODAY NETWORK
Fox News' chief political anchor had an up-and-down relationship with Trump, but the former president relied on the network for positive coverage throughout his presidency.
Skip Bronson
A business owner and real estate developer who wrote the book "The War at the Shore: Donald Trump, Steve Wynn, and the Epic Battle to Save Atlantic City."
Sheri Dillon
A lawyer for the Trump Organization who oversaw the transfer of Trump's assets into a trust when he won the White House, raising questions about whether the president would still profit from the organization during his time in office.
Joe Kernen
A conservative news anchor and co-host of the financial morning news program "Squawk Box" on CNBC. Mike De Sisti / USA TODAY NETWORK
The media tycoon's decades-long, up-and-down relationship with Trump improved before the 2016 election. After Trump took office, Murdoch called the White House at least once a week.
Larry Glick
An executive vice president of the Trump Organization.
Rhona Graff
Trump's former personal assistant for almost three decades, Graff's role expanded to include media liaison, scheduler, spokesperson, fundraiser, co-star on "The Apprentice," and Miss Teen USA judge.
Steve Hilbert
An insurance industry executive from Indiana who helped connect Trump with his eventual vice president, Mike Pence. Robert Deutsch / USA TODAY NETWORK
The president's son, who helped run the Trump Organization during his father's presidency.
Carl Icahn
A billionaire investor who served as a special adviser to Trump before quitting in 2017 after an investigation revealed his conflicts of interest.
Marc Kasowitz
A longtime lawyer for Trump who served as his outside counsel while he was in the White House.
Jeanine Pirro
A Fox News host and former district attorney in Westchester County whose ex-husband, Al Pirro, had been a lobbyist for Trump's business interests decades earlier. She has attended some sessions of Trump's trial. Meghan McCarthy / The Palm Beach Post / USA TODAY NETWORK
As Trump's personal lawyer and fixer, Cohen paid hush money to Stormy Daniels, the porn actor at the center of the falsified business records case against Trump.
Charles Kushner
The father of Trump's son-in-law and close adviser, Jared Kushner, was pardoned by the president in January 2021 after serving two years in prison for tax evasion and other charges.
Richard LeFrak
A New York real estate titan and longtime friend of Trump.
Harvey Levin
The founder of the gossip news site TMZ, who once interviewed Trump for a Fox News special and was later granted an Oval Office meeting shortly after Trump took office. Jack Gruber / USA TODAY NETWORK
The television producer responsible for shaping Trump's public image as a strategic business owner through the development of the Trump-led competition show "The Apprentice."
John Meyers
The contact list describes Meyers as the chair of "AG Asset Mgmt," but his relationship with Trump is unclear.
Lorne Michaels
The creator and producer of NBC's "Saturday Night Live," a frequent thorn in Trump's side.
Amanda Miller
A spokesperson for the Trump Organization. USA TODAY NETWORK
A financier and Hollywood executive with no government experience whom Trump named his Treasury secretary.
George Sorial
The managing director of the Trump Organization and a lawyer for Trump who wrote "The Real Deal: My Decade Fighting Battles and Winning Wars With Trump."
Robert Trump
The president's younger brother, who died in 2020, was described by Trump as his "best friend." They were estranged for years before Trump made his run for the White House.
Tiffany Trump
Trump's youngest daughter, and only child with his ex-wife Marla Maples, was a student at Georgetown Law School during her father's presidency. Jack Gruber / USA TODAY
Led the influential evangelical Liberty University during Trump's first term before being caught up in a sex scandal in 2020.
Nelson Peltz
The billionaire investor and businessman was a key Republican donor who raised millions for Trump. Peltz stopped supporting Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol but recently told the Financial Times that he would vote for him in 2024.
Isaac Perlmutter
The former chair of Marvel Entertainment is a Mar-a-Lago member and Trump donor. Kyle Terada / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Fox News host served as an occasional confidant and sounding board for Trump during his presidency.
Lou Rinaldi
The contact list describes Rinaldi only as a "politician," though his specific office is unclear. A man by the same name appears to have won golf tournaments at Trump's country club in Westchester.
Phil Ruffin
The casino magnate, a big-time donor to Trump's campaigns, is an owner of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.
Joe Scarborough
The co-host of MSNBC's "Morning Joe" and a former Republican congress member who was close to Trump before a public falling-out in 2017. Andy Abeyta /The Desert Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK
The former CEO of the PGA of America and current Director of Athletics at the University of Notre Dame.
Randy Levine
The president of the New York Yankees baseball team and a longtime associate of the former president.
Howard Lorber
An investor and CEO of the holding company Vector Group who was an early supporter of Trump's run for the presidency and served as an economic adviser to the campaign.
Shawn McCabe
The general manager of Trump Florida Properties. GREG SWIERCZ / USA TODAY NETWORK,
A golf champion who publicly supported Trump during his run for the White House.
David Friedman
A bankruptcy lawyer-turned-Israel-ambassador during the Trump administration who left his post in 2021 after overhauling White House policy toward the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Mike Fascitelli
A former partner at Goldman Sachs, CEO at Vornado Realty, and investor in the startup founded by Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Alan Garten
Another lawyer for the Trump Organization who defended Trump during an investigation into his taxes. Rob Schumacher /The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK
A well-known talent agent close to David Pecker, the publisher of The National Enquirer and a close friend of Trump. Emanuel is the brother of Chicago's former Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
John Nieporte
The head golf professional at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Bill O'Reilly
The conservative commentator, a mainstay on Fox News until a sexual misconduct scandal forced his resignation in 2017, was a loyal friend of Trump's throughout his ascension to the presidency. Trump regularly appeared on O'Reilly's prime-time show.
David Pecker
The former publisher of The National Enquirer testified at the beginning of Trump's trial that he paid for Stormy Daniels' story of a tryst with Trump in order to bury it.
(This content was created with the help of AI, and edited by a human.) Kyle Terada / USA TODAY Sports