By Dan Murphy
President Donald Trump lost Westchester County to Hillary Clinton in 2016 by a 64 to 36 percent margin, and since then, Westchester has become a deep blue, Democratic progressive stronghold. But even in deep blue Westchester, Trump supporters exist, including a few who advocate for the president on television, or who have joined Trump in the White House.
Former Westchester District Attorney Jeanine Pirro is perhaps the best known Trump supporter, frequently appearing on Fox News, and former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino is a CNN republican contributor.
One name you may not know now but will over the next 11 months, through Election Day 2020, is Tony Sayegh. An Eastchester resident who served in the Village of Tuckahoe government as a trustee and as deputy mayor, Sayegh has used his communication skills to move up the chain of command in Trump’s White House, where he now serves as a senior advisor-strategist.
Recently, Sayegh, 43, served as the assistant secretary for public affairs for the U.S. Department of the Treasury, working with Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin on passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, in which he appeared on TV to promote comprehensive tax reform, which included the cap on state and local taxes, which is unpopular in Westchester.
Prior to joining the Trump administration, Sayegh appeared on Fox News as a contributor for five years where he caught the attention of then-candidate Donald Trump. Our readers may also recognize Sayegh for his three-year stint on News 12 Westchester as a republican political analyst during the local elections.
Now, with the impeachment discussion and vote occupying almost all of the attention both in Washington, D.C., and across the country, Sayegh has been brought in to help organize the president and the administration’s response to the impeachment inquiry.
Sayegh and former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi have formed a “War Room” in the basement of the White House to create talking points and responses to democrats calls for the impeachment of Trump, but also to make sure that republicans in the House of Representatives and in the U.S. Senate remain unified and opposed to impeachment.
While Bondi is the more public face of the president’s response to impeachment, Sayegh has worked behind the scenes and used the relations he built working as Treasury spokesman on Capitol Hill, meeting with republican leadership to keep their message in sync and to emphasize their belief that the process is unfair and to attack the process.
Sayegh was recommended to the president by his daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, and supported by Mnuchin. “I am thrilled to have Tony and Pam join the team for a short time to help us,” said White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham.
Sayegh was rumored to be a candidate for White House press secretary before Grisham took the job. He and Bondi are also working closely with Dan Scavino, White House director of social media, who helps manage the president’s Twitter feed and is also from Westchester. While working in Washington, Sayegh’s wife, Maria, and four sons live in Eastchester, where they attend school and where Sayegh comes home to watch one of his son’s sporting events, where he can be frequently found.
Sayegh attended the Tuckahoe schools and was raised in Eastchester, where his parents still live in the house close to his home. He is proud of his Lebanese roots and the fact that he is a first-generation American. “I am a first-generation American, and my parents have a deep love and appreciation for America and are traditionally conservative,” said Sayegh. “I love Westchester, and it is where I’ll reside permanently, no matter what position I have. Westchester is my home, and I’m very proud of that.”
Sayegh has earned the respect of the “pro-Trump media” and the likes of former Trump advisor Stephen Bannon. Sayegh recently appeared on Bannon’s new radio show and podcast “War room: Impeachment.”How did he get to the job he now enjoys in the White House? “I believe I was in a position to understand the president’s political strength, and a communications position was a natural fit,” said Sayegh. “I heard that the president liked watching me on Fox, and that felt pretty cool.”
Those who remember Sayegh from his days in Tuckahoe village government include former Tuckahoe Mayor Steve Ecklond who served with Sayegh on the Tuckahoe Village Board. “Anyone who knows Tony, knows he’s always been destined for a role in government on a larger scale. Tony was a master at debating an issue and he never backed down from an opposing point of view. We had some challenging Village Board meetings back in those days and I always admired the way in which Tony took things head-on”
Former Tuckahoe trustee Steve Alfasi also served with Sayegh, saying, “Tony was always prepared and did his research. That is why he is always well spoken and ready to comment and represent the Treasury Secretary. He always did his homework.”
One thing Sayegh understands is that the president cannot be controlled, or told what to say. Sayegh, Bondi, and everyone else in the White House can only make recommendations to the president on his social media presence.
