Trump 2024 Campaign Manager Discusses the “Art of the Comeback”

They’re the questions everyone in politics wants answered: What makes President Trump tick? How does he make decisions? How did he pull off the greatest political comeback in American history? Does he really eat that much McDonalds? These questions—and more—formed the narrative of a fireside chat with the co-manager of the President’s 2024 campaign, Chris LaCivita. (On the Mickey D’s question, the answer is a resounding “yes.”) 

In this broad-ranging discussion with ACEC Chair Gary Raba and Executive Vice President Steve Hall, LaCivita shared insights and anecdotes from the wild 2024 presidential election and the even-wilder first months of the new Administration. Thís is a different President Trump from the one who took office in January 2017. To illustrate just how much of a Washington outsider Trump was when he was first elected, LaCivita shared that Inauguration Day 2017 marked only the seventeenth time Donald Trump had ever been to DC. That inexperience with the ways of Washington showed, but it’s a new day. “You don’t run for president three times and not learn something,” said LaCivita. This is a more disciplined and focused Trump, he said, surrounded by a staff that is equally focused on achieving his vision. “This is a team that knows there isn’t an ‘I’ in it,” he said. This marks a contrast to the first administration, which LaCivita referred to as a “team of rivals.” 

The early flurry of activity and action from Day One has been intentional. This is a team with a singular mindset: get the President’s agenda through. But let’s back up a bit. How did it come to be that Donald J. Trump found himself back in the Oval Office on January 20? 

LaCivita looked back on what he called a “campaign of firsts,” sharing that he and co-campaign manager Susie Wiles—now White House Chief of Staff—focused on things they could control. “Donald Trump was not one of them,” he said, laughing. But Trump brings a television producer’s eye to politics. “Everything is visual,” LaCivita said. “He has a knack for moments.” Moments like the McDonalds shift, the garbage truck stunt in the waning days of the campaign, and the now-iconic photo with Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Vatican—a photo LaCivita says was projecting a clear message to Putin. 

LaCivita acknowledged that the President is a “disruptor,” but was quick to add that he is also a builder. “This is a guy who has actually built stuff. Sometimes you gotta demolish stuff to rebuild it,” he said, giving the shuttering of USAID as one example. “Republicans have been talking about reducing government spending, waste, and fraud for years. Now we are actually doing something about it.” 

The conversation then turned to issues specifically affecting the industry. LaCivita argued “no one should have been surprised” by tariffs. “The President has been talking about them for 30 years. If anyone was surprised, they must have been in a cave,” he said. Trump is a tough negotiator who begins discussions at the worst possible outcome for his opponent. Tariffs are no different, LaCivita said. They’re a tactic—not a singular focus. “Everything is a deal,” he said. “I think there will be some big announcements [on tariffs] coming soon.” 

Asked about the President’s energy policy—namely around wind and solar—LaCivita advised attendees to search for videos on Trump’s hatred of windmills, which he said are both informative and highly entertaining. That said, the Administration is taking an “all of the above” approach that doesn’t necessarily eliminate green energy but stops the Biden-era policies of privileging it.  

LaCivita made a point to praise the work of ACEC’s PAC, saying the Council should be proud. “Politics makes good policy,” he said. “Being engaged at the level you are is important for [the engineering industry], but also for the country.”