Arlene "A. J." Delgado (born c. 1977) is an American attorney, political commentator, and writer. She was a senior advisor to the Donald Trump presidential campaign in 2016 and worked for the Trump transition team after the 2016 election.
Arlene Delgado | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. June 1977 (aged c. 47) |
| Alma mater | University of Florida Harvard University |
| Political party | Republican |
| Children | 1[1] |
Early life and education
editDelgado was raised in Miami, Florida, and is the daughter of immigrants from Cuba.[2] She graduated from the University of Florida and Harvard Law School.[2]
Career
editAfter law school, Delgado worked as an attorney in a New York City law firm for several years.[2] She then returned to Miami and began engaging in political commentary, including on Twitter,[3] as well as the National Review,[4] The American Conservative,[2] Breitbart,[5] Sean Hannity's radio show,[6] and Mediaite.[7][8] In 2015, she began to express support for then-candidate Donald Trump, including in her writing for Breitbart[9] and The Washington Post,[10] as well as in appearances on cable television.[2]
In September 2016, Delgado was hired as a senior advisor to the Trump campaign, with her role focused on Spanish-language media and national television.[2][11] She then became prominent as a spokesperson for the Trump campaign,[12] including to defend Trump against sexual misconduct allegations.[7][13][5][14]
According to Delgado, she began an intimate relationship with Trump campaign chief spokesperson Jason Miller, who was married at the time, in mid-October 2016. Delgado says that Miller told her at the time that he was in the process of getting divorced from his wife.[2][15] After the election, Delgado and Miller were hired by the Trump transition team, and according to Delgado, their relationship continued and then she learned she had become pregnant.[2] Before the appointment of Miller as White House Communications Director was announced, Delgado informed White House aides of their relationship, and after the appointment was announced, she wrote a series of tweets, including "Congratulations to the baby-daddy on being named WH Comms Director!".[16][2] Miller declined to accept the administration position shortly thereafter on December 24.[2][17][15] Delgado then deactivated her Twitter account after Miller made his announcement.[2][17]
Delgado was not hired to work for the Trump administration and then moved to Miami and into the residence of her mother, and gave birth to her son in July 2017.[2][18] She announced the birth on Twitter, which was followed by tabloid coverage in The New York Post and Miller confirming parentage.[2][7] Delgado responded on Twitter and gave an interview to McKay Coppins at The Atlantic,[7] and explained to Coppins, "It's a matter of defending my son."[2]
In May 2018, Delgado tweeted commentary that derided the claims made by Trump about the FBI spying on his 2016 campaign and described the claims as "embarrassing".[19] In 2018, Delgado and Miller engaged in litigation over the custody of their child,[20] and in 2019, litigation about child support and court-ordered legal expenses.[15] In December 2019, Delgado filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Trump transition team and specific officials based on allegations of pregnancy and sex discrimination.[20][21] In 2021, Delgado tweeted about the child support litigation and other issues related to their child. Jake Tapper later told Miller on Twitter, in a discussion about the Donald Trump feud with Brad Raffensperger, "and while I have your attention pay your child support", to which Miller tweeted back an accusation that Tapper is a "fake news pussy".[22]
Book
editShe self-published her book Hip To Be Square: Why It's Cool To Be A Conservative in 2012.
References
edit- ^ Mizoguchi, Karen (August 10, 2017). "Married Former Trump Aide Admits Campaign Affair and Love Child, Sending Angered Ex-Mistress to Vent on Twitter". People. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Coppins, McKay (August 15, 2017). "From Trump Aide to Single Mom". The Atlantic. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
- ^ Heer, Jeet (June 19, 2015). "National Review Magazine's Racism Denial, Then and Now". The New Republic. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- ^ "National Review Writer: Liberals 'Brainwash' Women To Cry 'Rape'". Talking Points Memo. May 21, 2014. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
- ^ a b Doyle, Jude Ellison Sady (August 25, 2017). "When A.J. Delgado Became an "Inconvenient Woman," She Was Abandoned by the Sexist Men She Vouched for". Elle. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- ^ Garcia, Ahiza (September 11, 2014). "Hannity Guest: 'Ray Rice Is The Bigger Victim Of Domestic Violence Here'". Talking Points Memo. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
- ^ a b c d Heil, Amanda (August 10, 2017). "Ex-Trump staffers confirm they have a son but offer different accounts". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
- ^ "Former Mediaite Columnist A.J. Delgado Joins Trump Campaign". Mediaite. September 13, 2016. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Rutherford, Paul (2018). The Adman's Dilemma: From Barnum to Trump. University of Toronto Press. p. 316. ISBN 9781487522988. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
- ^ Delgado, A.J. (August 22, 2016). "Why Latinos should vote for Trump". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
- ^ Walker, Hunter (September 13, 2016). "Trump campaign brings on A.J. Delgado as a senior adviser". Yahoo News. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
- ^ Walsh, Michael (October 21, 2016). "Trump adviser A.J. Delgado defends 'nasty woman' insult: 'He was speaking for a great deal of America'". Yahoo News. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
- ^ Hartmann, Margaret (October 13, 2016). "Trump Campaign Calls Sexual-Assault Allegations 'Absurd,' Surrogates Try to Discredit Accusers". NY Magazine.
- ^ Graham, David A. (October 13, 2016). "How Trump's Abuse of Women Hid in Plain Sight". The Atlantic. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- ^ a b c Waas, Murray (March 25, 2021). "Trump aide concealed work for PR firm and misled court to dodge child support". The Guardian. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- ^ Kurtz, Howard (2018). Media Madness: Donald Trump, the Press, and the War Over the Truth. Regnery Publishing. ISBN 9781621577560. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
- ^ a b Caputo, Marc; Dawsey, Josh; Isenstadt, Alex (December 25, 2016). "Trump pick backs out of White House job after affair allegations". Politico. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- ^ Wolff, Michael (2019). Siege: Trump Under Fire. Henry Holt and Company. p. 81. ISBN 9781250253811. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
- ^ Thomsen, Jacqueline (May 21, 2018). "Ex-Trump campaign adviser rips claims of spy in campaign: It's 'embarrassing'". The Hill. Archived from the original on July 11, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
- ^ a b Silverstein, Jason (December 24, 2019). "Lawsuit says Trump 2016 campaign staffer was punished after supervisor got her pregnant". CBS News. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
- ^ Gerstein, Josh (December 23, 2019). "Ex-Trump staffer suing over pregnancy discrimination". Politico. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
- ^ Rumpf, Sarah (January 3, 2021). "Trump Campaign's Jason Miller Calls Jake Tapper 'A Fake News P*ssy' After CNN Host Tells Him to Pay His Child Support". Mediaite. Retrieved May 4, 2022.