Trump's New Chief Of Staff Susie Wiles Has The Paula Deen Jokes Flying

Just two days after winning the presidency, Donald Trump named Susie Wiles as his chief of staff. If her face strikes you as a familiar sight, it could be for the same reason social media users noticed after Trump announced her appointment on November 7. While some have focused more on Wiles' journey from serving as Trump's campaign manager to becoming the first female White House chief of staff, others have been humorously fixated on her uncanny resemblance to former Food Network personality Paula Deen. 

Because Wiles and Deen, who is also tied to the Trump family via her relationship with Lara Trump, look so similar, some haven't been able to help but compare the two. "Susie Wiles looks like the "dark MAGA" version of Paula Deen," said one X user, who posted a picture of Wiles dressed all in black and wearing dark sunglasses. Another user wrote, "Susie Wiles is just finishing school Paula Deen."

While the similarities in their appearance have caused some within the X community to jokingly speculate about Wiles and Deen's possible family ties with one calling her "Paula Deen's even more racist sister," there is no known relation between them. Wiles, 67, is the daughter of Pat and Kathy Summerall and grew up in New Jersey. Deen, 77, is the daughter of Corrie and Earl Hiers and grew up in Georgia. 

Donald Trump's new chief of staff, Susie Wiles, looks more like Paula Deen at the height of her popularity than Paula Deen today. Deen has lost a considerable amount of weight over the years following lifestyle changes after being being diagnosed with type two diabetes, and some think she has become nearly unrecognizable and have even questioned if she has undergone plastic surgery. Her career notably took a nosedive in 2013 after she admitted to using racial slurs and was sued for race and sex discrimination by one of her former employees. While Wiles hasn't faced a similar scandal, her association with Trump — who has a long history of making racist and anti-immigrant comments — indicate to some that the similarities between the two women may run deeper than looks alone. "There is no congrats to be made to Susie Wiles, who ran the most racist, sexist, misogynistic campaign in history," tweeted one critic.

And while a pre-scandal Deen was known for her warm and inviting personality, Trump has referred to his new chief of staff as the "ice maiden." This seems to be more for her no-holds-barred attitude more than anything; Wiles is reportedly a doting grandma at home but ruthless at work. Florida Politics publisher Peter Schorsch, who is a friend of Wiles', described her to The Independent: "Susie does not f*** around. There is no other way to say it. It's not that she's hard, it's not that she's mean, but if you try to promote yourself or if you flimflam or you're not honest about something, Susie will knife you herself."