 "Who is WWE co-founder Linda McMahon, Donald Trump’s pick for US education secretary?")
US President-elect Donald Trump has announced that Linda McMahon will serve as his education secretary.
Linda, the co-founder and former COO of WWE, is currently the co-chair of Trump’s transition team.
She is married to Vince Kennedy McMahon – the former owner of WWE.
“With her decades of leadership experience and deep understanding of both education and business, Linda will empower the next generation of American students and workers, helping to make America the global leader in education. We will return control of education to the states, and Linda will lead that effort," Trump said in a statement.
But what do we know about Linda?
Let’s take a closer look:
What we know about Linda
Early years and rise
Linda was born Linda Marie Edwards in North Carolina.
She and Vince met when they were both teenagers.
They married in 1966.
According to The Times of India, Linda originally wanted to become a teacher.
But everything changed after marriage.
Vince and Linda founded Titan Sports Inc in 1979.
They bought the then WWWF – legally called Capitol Wrestling Inc – from his father Vincent James McMahon in 1982.
Vince and his father essentially made what was a ‘sweetheart deal’ – where they would pay his father and his partners for the company from the very money company made.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIt must be noted that the WWWF, even at the time, was arguably one of the biggest and most profitable wrestling companies – with its home market being New York and the sports mecca of Madison Square Garden.
Linda became the president of the company in 1993.
She served as the Chief Executive Officer of the company from 1997 to 2009.
Linda also participated in a number of high-profile storylines within the company – alongside her son Shane, daughter Stephani and her husband Vince.
Political career
In 2009, Linda decided to step away from the company.
As per The Times of India, she made her first foray into politics by running for the Connecticut Board of Education.
It was a position she would serve in for a year.
Linda also attempted to run for Senate in Connecticut in 2010 and 2012.
She ran as a Republican but failed both times despite spending millions of dollars,
As per CNN, Linda shelled $50.1 million of her own money in 2010 and another $48.7 million in 2012.
Trump gave her campaign $5,000 in 2012.
Her opponents would use her time in the WWE to paint a negative portrait of her.
It was Trump who tapped her to be part of his administration in 2016.
This, after she gave two pro-Trump super PACs over $7 million during his first presidential campaign.
Linda was named as the head of the Small Business Administration.
She ultimately left the administration in 2019 – to much praise from Trump.
“She has been a superstar,” Trump said at the time, as per The Times of India. “The fact is, I’ve known her for a long time. I knew she was good, but I didn’t know she was that good.”
But Linda didn’t leave Trump’s orbit.
As per CNN, she became the chair of America First Action, a pro-Trump super PAC.
As per India Today, Linda also chairs the America First Policy Institute (API).
This is a pro-Trump think-tank formed in 2021 by Linda, Larry Kudlow and other advisers from the first Trump administration.
The AFPI, which has raised millions of dollars, has been called the “White-House-in-waiting,” as per CNN.
Trump again tapped Linda in 2024 to be part of his transition team during his run for president.
Linda, during the Republican Convention in Milwaukee, offered Trump effusive praise.
“President Trump is a job creator and the best friend American workers have had in the White House,” she said.
According to Washington Post, Linda is a director on the board of Trump Media & Technology Group.
This is the parent firm of Trump’s social media company Truth Social.
‘Ring boys’ lawsuit
Linda and Vince have recently been named as defendants in the ‘ring boys’ lawsuit by five anonymous plaintiffs.
As per The Times of India, the ‘ring boys scandal’ originally claim to light in 1992.
At the time, an ex-ring boy named Tom Cole accused two WWE employees – Mel Philips and Terry Garvin – of inappropriate behaviour with minors.
Vince and Linda have been accused of knowing about this behaviour and not doing enough to protect the ring boys.
Lee Cole, the brother of the late Tom Cole, recently accused Linda of being the ‘mastermind’ behind the cover up.
“Linda McMahon is the master of the coverup. What Vince did is Vince walked out of the boardroom that very last day when everybody was meeting there and he said ‘Linda, take over,’” said Lee Cole. “Linda took over, Linda was in charge of my brother, Linda was in charge of covering up the Ring Boys scandal. Linda was in charge of going out and finding people. She was part of it, just like she was part of many other coverups. Then it went to covering up for Ashley Massaro. This is what they’ve done over the years.”
Massaro, a former WWE talent, took her own life in 2019.
She had said that she was raped on a WWE tour of Kuwait and that top executives in the company at the time including Vince and John Laurinaitis knew about her claims.
Vince, Laurinaitis, and the WWE are also facing a federal investigation and a sex trafficking lawsuit.
This came as a result of a lawsuit brought by former WWE employee Janel Grant – who has accused both men of sex trafficking her.
McMahon and Laurinaitis’ lawyers have dismissed the allegations.
According to a new report in Washington Post, Linda and Vince are currently separated.
“Linda is this well-spoken, congenial, bright, well-dressed woman executive, but she helped run a testosterone-fueled business that was seen as very sleazy for a long time,” pro-wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer told the Washington Post. “That could be an issue for her, but Trump has so much baggage himself, and it seems that in politics these days, everything goes.”
The Trump-WWE connection
The relationship between Trump and the WWE goes back decades.
Trump’s hosted Wrestlemania IV and V – the WWE’s marquee event of the year at his hotel in Atlantic City – in 1987 and 1988.
Trump also made a guest appearance at Wrestlemania 7 in 1990 in Los Angeles.
In 2007, nearly twenty years ago, Trump participated in the ‘Battle of the billionaires’ storyline with then WWE owner Vince McMahon.
McMahon, whose company merged with the UFC to form TKO, resigned from the company after sexual assault allegations against him emerged.
Trump picked wrestler Bobby Lashley to fight for him at Wrestlemania 27 against McMahon handpicked Umaga to be his representative.
The stipulation for the match was that either Trump or McMahon, depending on which wrestler lost, would have their head shaved as a result.
Trump was seemingly nervous going into the event.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump in his contract made sure his head would not be shaved under any circumstances.
“Mr Trump had his associates review the contract to ensure that under no circumstances would Mr McMahon be allowed to shave his head, even if Mr Trump’s wrestler dropped dead in the ring,” the report stated.
The contract reportedly also mandated that McMahon give a charity chosen by Trump $4 million after the conclusion of Wrestlemania.
Wrestlemania 27, at that point, was the company’s biggest PPV ever.
“There were a lot of matches on that show,” wrestling journalist Brian Alavarez told BBC, “but people were super into the idea of one of these guys getting their heads shaved.”
The PPV, of course, famously ended with McMahon getting his head shaved by Lashley – with an assist from special referee Stone Cold Steve Austin and Trump himself.
“Fortunately, my guy won. And the loser had their hair shaved. I said, I don’t want to have my hair shaved!" Trump, who appeared recently on the podcast of WWE legend Mark Calaway (The Undertaker) said.
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