Inside the West Wing: Exclusive Interview with Trump White House Intern Macy Gunnell: VIDEO
Campus Reform sat down with White House intern and Campus Reform-trained journalist Macy Gunnell to hear what it’s like to work in the White House and what President Donald Trump and his team are really like behind closed doors.
What’s it like to go from campus life to walking the halls of the West Wing? For Macy Gunnell, the answer is: fast, caffeinated and unforgettable.
I sat down with White House intern and Campus Reform-trained journalist Macy Gunnell for an exclusive peek behind the scenes of the West Wing.
Her White House internship wasn’t just a career move but a front-row seat to history. In the revealing conversation, Gunnell shared what it’s like to work in the White House, how her training at Campus Reform shaped her success, and what President Donald Trump and his team are really like behind closed doors.
Gunnell, a rising senior at St. Mary’s College in Indiana, spent her summer working in communications at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), a key agency that serves the president in managing operations and overseeing the federal budget.
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The Trump administration’s push for transparency and reform has kept West Wing staff moving “a thousand miles per hour every single day,” according to Gunnell.
“Every single day is going to look completely different,” Gunnell said. “It’s very unpredictable, but that’s what makes things so fun and so exciting and honestly so promising for me as an everyday American.”
Gunnell didn’t arrive to the West Wing empty-handed, she came equipped with skills sharpened as a correspondent for Campus Reform, where she’s penned over a dozen investigative articles exposing liberal bias on college campuses.
“I was so drawn to the Campus Reform mission because it really has so much more of an impact than you think it would on what’s happening at these universities,” Gunnell said.
She says the skills she learned, particularly in messaging, were instrumental in her White House role.
“The power that words can have… that’s something I have used every single day at the White House,” she explained. “The power of words and the art that it takes to just craft the perfect message to communicate to the American people because they deserve the best transparency.”
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Gunnell also emphasized the level of dedication inside the West Wing.
“Every single person in the White House is 100% dedicated to pursuing the administration’s attempts to restore American sovereignty…every single person is very heavily caffeinated and on very little sleep, but no one bats an eye because they know that that’s what it takes to fix everything that happened with the previous administration.”
And sometimes, those late nights come with a presidential handshake. Gunnell has had several opportunities to interact with President Trump.
“He’s so commanding… the biggest thing that stood out to me about President Trump is the joy that he brings every single day,” she said.
“Sure, I’m an intern, but I see myself more so as an everyday American. And to be able to have that interaction as virtually nobody from the cornfields of Indiana, like I joke about, to be able to have that interaction with the president, it’s so inspiring.”
With her internship complete, Gunnell is heading back to campus to finish her senior year, and then, she says, it’s back to Washington.
“It’s more than just about me. It’s about the country. It’s about the people around me.”
Watch the exclusive video interview on YouTube.
Follow the author of this article on X and Instagram: @RealEmilySturge
