Perhaps the best day of William Russell’s career was the day he got down on one knee and proposed to his wife Sarah Russell on the south lawn of The White House.
“Of my time in the White House, the most special thing is that that is where I found my wife,” Russell said.
Russell, special assistant to former President Donald Trump, met Sarah when they worked in the same department before she moved to work in the West Wing for former Counselor to the President Kelly Anne Conway.
“I proposed on the south lawn. I had to do it. I only got one shot. I had to do it right, so I proposed on the lawn and we got married April 4 2020 via Zoom because of COVID,” Russell said. “It will always be the best move I have ever made.”
A Columbus native, Russell organized campaign rallies for Trump and also helped coordinate the former president’s official travel while in office. Now, he lives in south Florida and runs his own company “working on business administration and public affairs.” He also continues to work for Trump.
On Tuesday afternoon Rusell joined the Rotary Club of Columbus luncheon where he enjoyed some light conversation before officially addressing the rotarians to tell the story of his career.
Russell graduated from Mississippi State University in 2013 with a bachelor of business administration and marketing. Two weeks before Russell graduated, Sen. Thad Cochran’s office offered him an internship that he started in January 2014. This internship jump-started Russell’s career.
“Sen. Cochran at that time was a staple and a leader in Mississippi politics,” Russell said. “So, it was fitting for me to leave Mississippi and head to Washington,” Russell said.
Russell was at Cochran’s side through a tough primary in 2014 from January to late August of that same year. After his internship ended in the fall, Russell received another call from Rep. Alan Nunnelee, who offered him a full-time job as executive aide and scheduler in his office.
“That job stands out in my mind as one of the most fulfilling jobs, not just Alan but his wife Tory took such good care of me. They were like my D.C. mom and dad,” Russell said.
Russell worked for Nunnelee until his passing in 2015. He was left wondering what he was going to do in the middle of a session with no staff opportunities. He continued to work in the office of the 1st Congressional District of Mississippi until the special election.
Then he was introduced to Ben Carson, who ultimately served Trump’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, who was contemplating a run for president.
“I sat down with his staff on Monday, they hired me on Wednesday and by that Friday I was traveling as Dr. Carson’s personal aide,” Russell said.
Russell was with Carson until January 2016 when he dropped out of the race. This was a highly pivotal time in Russell’s career.
“As a personal aide on a young campaign, it is usually just you and the candidate traveling around,” he said. “So I found myself in the car with Dr. Carson traveling one-on-one so many times and had the opportunity to pick his brain.”
After Carson ended in fourth place in the primaries, he advised Russell that if he wanted to continue doing what he was doing, he needed to go work for Trump.
After Trump won election in November 2016, Russell took over coordinating everything that happened on Inauguration Day. At the same time, he was informed that he would be working with the USDA for nine months until the fall when Bobby Peede wanted Russell to come work for him as advance in the White House.
In December 2017, Russell started on the Trump campaign as a lead advance. In that role, he was responsible for traveling a couple days in advance of his candidate and putting together contracts with venues, vendors, making sure audio and lighting were good, controlling crowd movement and more.
“There were long hours and sleepless nights … nights when I knew that I had 48 hours to put out a rally for 15 to 20,000 people,” Russell said.
Russell’s hard work paid off after he was appointed deputy director of advance and trip director.
“My responsibilities as the deputy director of advance was to manage the internal staff of about 16 people while also managing all of these teams that were out in the field doing rallies and whenever Trump left the White House I was with him, by his side briefing him every step of the way,” Russell said.
In that role, Russell’s relationship with Trump really began to grow.
“At the end of the day, when we were getting off the plane, he would always turn around and say something like a good job. His favorite was ‘You live to fight another day Will,’” Russell said.
Russell’s time at the White House was not always filled with chaos and stress, however, sometimes he would enjoy a night of bowling with friends in the White House basement.
“I went bowling several times,” Russell said. “Two lanes, it was in the basement but it was a lot of fun. The White House itself is quite complex.”
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