TRUMPWORLD EXIT

Top Trump Aide Quits the White House

The North Carolina native has worked within Trump’s orbit since 2020.

President Donald Trump’s special assistant and director of media affairs has said she is departing the White House to establish her own media booking and communications consultancy, Cornerstone Strategics. Sonny Joy Nelson, a staunch MAGA supporter, has worked with Trump since his 2024 campaign and has held communications roles within the president’s political orbit since 2020. The North Carolina native announced in March that she is pregnant with her second child, a baby boy due in October. “Sonny is the best media booker in the business—and it’s not even close,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who gave birth to a baby girl this month, said in a statement to Axios. “But, most importantly, she is well respected by everyone she works with because she’s a hard worker and a great person,” Leavitt added. Nelson told Axios that her firm is “inspired by Jesus as the cornerstone of my life” and that its goal is to “create media that not only looks good, but communicates something real and lasting.” Nelson is an outspoken Christian and an anti-abortion advocate. A replacement for Nelson’s role has not yet been announced. The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.