This article was written by Hansen Zhang.

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Throughout Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, a hulking, intimidating figure constantly loomed over his shoulder. Part spokesperson, part security guard, that man was Steven Cheung. Reportedly referred to by Trump as his “sumo wrestler,” Cheung has largely worked his way up from the ground, cycling through various Republican campaigns and even a stint in communications at UFC, the American mixed martial arts promotion company. 

President Donald Trump speaks with a journalist alongside White House Communications director Steven Cheung on board Air Force One on February 19th, 2025. Source: Getty Images/Roberto Schmidt

Known as Trump’s chief attack dog and spokesman, Cheung has developed an eccentric persona, one in which he utilizes extreme rhetoric to convey his points and aggressively defend his boss. Yet, in a paradoxical contrast to his public facade, Cheung maintains an excellent working relationship with the reporters he deals with. 

When speaking with The New Yorker, a reporter who covered the Trump campaign for a major news outlet quipped about Cheung: “I like dealing with him. He’s not a white nationalist. He gets back to you, and he gets you statements.” It is that combination of aggression and approachability that has shaped Cheung’s career and landed him where he is today. 

Cheung, the son of Chinese immigrants, was raised in Sacramento. He attended John F. Kennedy High School, where he also played on the school’s football team. Graduating in 2000, Cheung wrote in his yearbook’s senior quote, “I am the Greatest Masterpiece ever to grace God’s green earth.” That early display of self-confidence foreshadowed the flamboyance and bravado that Cheung would later display throughout his career.

Steven Cheung’s Class of 2000 senior portrait at Kennedy High School in Sacramento. Source: CBS News Sacramento

Cheung also attended Sacramento State, where he majored in both political and computer science. 

The political career of Steven Cheung kick-started in 2003, when he served as a communications and speechwriting intern in California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office. “It was one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve ever had, because I learned the importance about what not to do just as much as what I should do,” Cheung remarked to Politico in an interview in 2020. 

His relationship with his former mentor would later sour, however. After Schwarzenegger, a Republican, endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign, Cheung declared that Schwarzenegger “thinks too highly of himself if he actually believes his endorsement will matter. He hasn’t been relevant in 15 years.” 

Later on, Cheung also worked on John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, Steve Poizner’s 2010 California gubernatorial bid, and Sharron Angle’s 2010 Republican primary campaign for Nevada’s U.S. Senate seat. Angle’s campaign was riddled with controversy, including an incident in which she told a Hispanic group of students that “some of you look a little more Asian to me.” Despite turmoil between veteran staffers and activist backers over campaign strategy, multiple colleagues stated that they never heard Cheung complain, according to NOTUS. 

In 2011 and 2012, Cheung served as a staffer on then-Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst’s senatorial campaign in Texas. His job was to reduce the glamour of Dewhurst’s opponent Ted Cruz with belligerent and pugnacious attacks. 

In a widely distributed email to voters, Cheung proclaimed that “Red Ted shows his true colors, and consistently stands with China against American interests.” These accusations infuriated Cruz, who bristled at the thought of being associated with Communism. Cruz would later go on to defeat Dewhurst in a Republican primary run-off in July 2012. 

Taking a break from politics, Cheung transitioned to a top spokesperson role for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. An enthusiast in taekwondo and Muay Thai boxing, Cheung worked closely with Dana White, the chief executive of UFC and decadeslong friend of Donald Trump. White also delivered a rousing endorsement of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign at the Republican National Convention.  

President Trump and his delegation (including Elon Musk, Speaker Mike Johnson, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Dana White) at UFC 309 in Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2024. Source: Office of Speaker Mike Johnson on X

Politics, however, remained Cheung’s true calling. Speaking to Mother Jones, Jason Miller, a senior Trump advisor, recalled that in 2016, “[Cheung] emailed me out of the blue,” and “[I] told him to meet us at the convention in Cleveland, and I put him to work.” Cheung quickly became a critical member of Trump’s bare-bones 2016 campaign communications team, joining at a time when aides were still grappling with how to manage Trump’s love-hate relationship with the press. 

After Trump’s victory over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, Cheung found himself within the White House, albeit in a small role. Referring to Cheung, a White House aide at the time disclosed, “he was a nobody and he did baby things.” 

His loyalty did not remain unnoticed for long. As Trump’s staffers came and went like revolving doors, Cheung remained a steady presence. He was eventually named the White House director of strategic response, where he was granted larger responsibilities, including overseeing communications related to the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.

Cheung remained in the position until June 2018, when White House chief of staff John Kelly approved plans to shift the direction of Trump’s communications team. Cheung opted to enter the private sector, founding his own communications consulting firm, Solgence, which Trump later retained for his 2020 presidential campaign. 

After Joe Biden defeated Trump in the 2020 election, Cheung worked for Caitlyn Jenner’s unsuccessful 2021 California gubernatorial recall bid, and for Eric Greitens, the scandal-plagued former Missouri governor who tried to stage a political comeback with a 2022 U.S. Senate run. 

As Trump prepared for yet another presidential run in 2024, Cheung was once again at his side, this time serving as the campaign’s official spokesperson. Throughout the Republican primary and the general election, numerous of Cheung’s remarks lambasting political opponents ricocheted across social media, sparking controversy. 

He labeled Republican Florida governor Ron DeSantis as a “desperate eunuch.” He also released a press statement declaring that “Ron DeSanctimonious is acting more like a thirsty, third-rate OnlyFans wannabe model than an actual presidential candidate.” In regard to former Republican South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, Cheung predicted that “she’s going to drop down to kiss ass when she quits, like she always does.” Both DeSantis and Haley eventually dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump in January and July of 2024, respectively. 

Cheung also issued strong statements about incumbent President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris, both Democrats. In March 2024, Cheung told Forbes that Biden “can barely put two coherent sentences together and slowly shuffles around like he has a full diaper in his pants, often falling on his ass in front of the world.” He also referred to Harris as “a stone-cold loser who is increasingly desperate because she is flailing, and her campaign is in shambles.”

Throughout the election cycle, Cheung prominently labeled critics of Trump as suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome” in an effort to deflect controversy. His oratory mirrored the style of other high-level Trump communications officials, including Karoline Leavitt, who now serves as the White House Press Secretary. 

Cheung and Karoline Leavitt, the White House Press Secretary, speaking on the South Lawn of the White House in March 2025. Source: Getty Images/Andrew Harnik

Following Trump’s massive upset over Harris on election night- sweeping all seven swing states– Cheung was swiftly tapped to serve as White House communications director in the second Trump administration. 

The position of communications director saw six people serve over seven stints throughout Trump’s first term. Infamously, Anthony Scaramucci only served 11 days in the capacity after insults he made directed toward former Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and Chief Strategist Steve Bannon were publicly released. Cheung, by contrast, currently holds the role with years of proven loyalty and a reputation as Trump’s fiercest defender. 

For Cheung, though, his identity remains just as central as his strategy. When California Representative Ted Lieu tweeted statistics indicating that Trump is racist in 2021, Cheung replied: “As an Asian-American who has worked on campaigns, in government, and in the corporate world, working for President Trump and in his [White House] was the most inclusive environment I’ve ever encountered.” Therein lies a defense that underscores the paradox of Steven Cheung: an attack dog of Trump’s critics, yet one who frames his loyalty through a deeply personal sense of belonging.