Rhona Cheryl Graff is a long-standing executive assistant to
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
and senior vice-president of the
Trump Organization
Trump most commonly refers to:
* Donald Trump (born 1946), 45th president of the United States (2017–2021)
* Trump (card games), any playing card given an ad-hoc high rank
Trump may also refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Donald J. T ...
. She worked at
Trump Tower
Trump Tower is a 58-story, mixed-use skyscraper at 721–725 Fifth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, between East 56th and 57th Streets. The building contains the headquarters for the Trump Organization, as well ...
in New York City for nearly thirty years prior to Trump's election to the United States Presidency, and has been described as Trump's 'gatekeeper'. Following Trump's election to the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
, Graff continued to handle his arrangements outside official engagements.
Early life and education
Graff grew up the daughter of Carl Kalman Graff and Elsie Ann Ratner Graff in the
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
borough of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. She holds a master's degree in psychology and education from
Queens College
Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...
.
Career
In 1987 Graff heard of a job vacancy at Donald Trump's business, and successfully applied for it. She has since held the positions of assistant to the president and senior vice-president within the Trump Organization, handling a large quantity of Trump's business activity and acting as occasional spokesperson. She has also appeared alongside Trump on NBC television show ''
The Apprentice
''The Apprentice'' is a Reality competition, reality talent game show franchise originally aired in 2004 in the United States.
Created by U.S.-based British producer Mark Burnett, the show depicts contestants from around the country with variou ...
'' and has been a judge on ''
Miss Teen USA
Miss Teen USA is a beauty pageant formerly run, since 1983, by the Miss Universe Organization for girls aged 14–19. Unlike its sister pageants Miss Universe, which currently broadcasts on Fox and Miss USA, this pageant is webcast on the Mis ...
''.
Graff has been nicknamed "Trump's right hand".
John Catsimatidis
John A. Catsimatidis (born September 7, 1948) is an American billionaire businessman and radio talk show host. He is the owner, president, chairman, and CEO of Gristedes Foods, a grocery chain in Manhattan, and the Red Apple Group, a real estat ...
has similarly remarked, ''"If I really wanted to whisper something in his ear, I would probably go to Rhona"''. In a 2004 interview with ''Real Estate Weekly'' Graff stated, "''Everybody knows in order to get through to him they have to go through me, so they are always on their best behavior''". She has been a contributor to ''Inside Tennis'' magazine.
Trump Presidency
Since Trump's assumption of the US presidency, Graff reportedly communicated with Trump through his former White House assistant
Madeleine Westerhout
Madeleine Elise Westerhout (born October 8, 1990) is the former Director of Oval Office Operations at the White House from February to August 2019. Prior to that, from 2017 to 2019, she served as the Personal Secretary to U.S. President Donald T ...
and a former Deputy Chief of Staff,
Katie Walsh.
Graff's name came to the attention of Congressional investigators of
Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections
The Russian government interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election with the goals of harming the campaign of Hillary Clinton, boosting the candidacy of Donald Trump, and increasing political and social discord in the United States. Acc ...
in August 2017 following reports that she appeared to be referred to by name by music publicist
Rob Goldstone
Robert Ian Goldstone (born 3 December 1960) is a British publicist, music manager, and former tabloid journalist who gained international attention for his activities during the 2016 American presidential election campaign.
Early life and ca ...
in an email to Trump's son,
Donald Trump Jr
Donald John Trump Jr. (born December 31, 1977) is an American political activist, businessman, author, and former television presenter. He is the eldest child of Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021, and his firs ...
, concerning the then-upcoming
Veselnitskaya meeting in Trump Tower in June 2016, when Goldstone wrote: ''"I can also send this info to your father via Rhona, but it is ultra sensitive so wanted to send to you first"''. Goldstone also emailed Graff herself in July 2015, appearing to offer to help set up a meeting between Trump and Russian President
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
.
Personal life
Graff lives in New York. In 1993, she married New York City's former Deputy Commissioner of Transportation,
Lucius Joseph Riccio, in a ceremony performed by
New York City Mayor David N. Dinkins at the
Plaza Hotel
The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, a ...
.
See also
*
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graff, Rhona
Living people
American women in business
Queens College, City University of New York alumni
The Trump Organization employees
Year of birth missing (living people)
People from Queens, New York