Mercedes Schlapp


Mercedes Schlapp is an American lobbyist and columnist. From September 2017 to July 2019, she served as White House Director of Strategic Communications in the Trump administration. Since July 2019, she has worked on the Trump 2020 re-election campaign.

Personal life

Schlapp is a second generation Cuban-American born in Florida. She is married to Matt Schlapp, the chair of the American Conservative Union. The Schlapps have five daughters.

Career

Campaigns and Bush administration

Schlapp worked on local and national political campaigns, as well as the 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns for George W. Bush, and was Director of Specialty Media in his administration.

Media

Later she was a Fox News contributor and a columnist for several publications including U.S. News & World Report and The Washington Times.

Lobbyist

Together with her husband Schlapp founded Cove Strategies, a lobbying firm based in Alexandria, Virginia, in 2009. Since President Trump entered the White House, the income of the firm surged. Koch Industries was the firm's first client.

NRA

She was a board member of the National Rifle Association before joining the White House. She was an aid consultant at the NRA, earning $60,000 from the NRA in 2015, and $45,000 in 2016, according to NRA tax filings.

Trump administration

On September 12, 2017, President Donald Trump's administration announced that Schlapp would serve as Director of Strategic Communications. Prior to joining the Trump administration, Schlapp made numerous statements that were strongly critical of Trump.
Schlapp attracted attention when she and her husband left the White House Correspondents Dinner early in April 2018, saying that she was disgusted by comedian Michelle Wolf’s jokes aimed at Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. In a limousine en route to an exclusive NBC/MSNBC afterparty, she tweeted that Wolf's comedy routine is "why America hates the out of touch leftist media elite".
In May 2018, Schlapp defended White House aide Kelly Sadler after she joked that John McCain's opposition to CIA Director nominee Gina Haspel was irrelevant because "he’s dying anyway".

George Floyd protests

In June 2020, amid the George Floyd protests against racism and police brutality, she retweeted praise for a racist who was wielding a chainsaw against protestors while he was yelling the N-word. After Politico asked for comment, she retweeted another account that posted the video of the chainsaw-wielding man but which muted the N-word. After Politico published the story, she apologized.

Political positions

Schlapp has stated an opposition to same-sex marriage, calling President Barack Obama’s decision to support it a "political ploy".