1. Linda Marie McMahon is an American politician, business executive, and former professional wrestling promoter.
59 Facts About Linda McMahon
1. 2.
Linda McMahon made occasional on-screen performances, most notably in a feud with her husband that culminated at WrestleMania X-Seven.
3.
Linda McMahon was the Republican nominee for Connecticut's other Senate seat in the 2012 race, but lost to Democrat Chris Murphy.
4.
On December 7,2016, Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Linda McMahon to be administrator of the Small Business Administration.
5.
On November 19,2024, Linda McMahon was nominated by Donald Trump to serve as Secretary of Education.
6.
Linda McMahon was an only child and grew up as a "tomboy" playing basketball and baseball.
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Linda McMahon's parents were both employees at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, a military base.
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Linda McMahon grew up in a conservative Baptist family, but converted to Roman Catholicism in her later years.
9.
Linda McMahon's mother worked in the same building as McMahon's mother, but they had not previously met.
10.
Edwards and Linda McMahon dated throughout their high school years; she attended Havelock High School and he attended Fishburne Military School in Virginia.
11.
Linda McMahon enrolled at East Carolina University in 1966, where she obtained a bachelor's degree in French.
12.
Linda McMahon purchased the Coliseum in Massachusetts and founded Titan Sports, Inc in 1980.
13.
At one point, Linda McMahon cooked meatball sandwiches to feed the fans at these sporting events.
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Linda McMahon later expanded his market by airing WWF shows on national television.
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Linda McMahon became president in 1993 and CEO of the company in 1997.
16.
Linda McMahon negotiated many of the company's business deals with outside vendors and established the company's first line of action figures, Wrestling Superstars, in 1984.
17.
Linda McMahon was the primary negotiator for the World Wrestling Federation's 2000 TV deal with Viacom.
18.
On September 16,2009, Linda McMahon resigned from her position as CEO of WWE and left WWE to run as a Republican for a seat in the United States Senate from Connecticut.
19.
In December 2008, at a UBS Media Conference, Linda McMahon described the new rating as a marketing strategy to attract a young generation of wrestling fans and create loyalty to the brand.
20.
Linda McMahon stated the WWE wrestlers had lucrative contracts, merchandising deals, royalty payments, and appearance fees.
21.
Linda McMahon noted that many of the wrestlers had agents and considered them to be on par with "singers, golfers, or tennis players".
22.
Linda McMahon offered seminars to help wrestlers select health insurance plans.
23.
Linda McMahon often referred to the creative side of WWE as Vince's specialty, stating that she was primarily in the management team, although she appeared in several storylines.
24.
Linda McMahon debuted on WWF TV during the Corporate Ministry storyline, on the May 3,1999, episode of Raw during the Attitude Era.
25.
Linda McMahon became a member of the board of trustees of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut in November 2004.
26.
Linda McMahon met Lowell Weicker, whose son is developmentally-disabled, through the Special Olympics.
27.
Linda McMahon was appointed to the Connecticut State Board of Education by Governor Jodi Rell in January 2009.
28.
Linda McMahon sat on the Connecticut Board of Education for one year starting in 2009.
29.
Linda McMahon told lawmakers at the time that she had a lifelong interest in education and once planned to become a teacher.
30.
Linda McMahon went through a confirmation process in the Connecticut State Assembly where she was questioned on her record as CEO of WWE.
31.
Days after her resignation, the Hartford Courant reported that Linda McMahon had falsely filled out a questionnaire from the governor's office on which she claimed to have received a bachelor's degree in education from East Carolina University in 1969; her degree was actually in French.
32.
On September 16,2009, Linda McMahon announced her candidacy for US senator to represent the state of Connecticut.
33.
Linda McMahon announced she would spend up to $50 million of her own money to finance her campaign and refused outside donations, the third most ever spent on a senatorial campaign.
34.
Linda McMahon ran for the Republican nomination, campaigning on promises of lower taxes, fiscal conservatism, and job creation.
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Linda McMahon campaigned as socially moderate, and identified herself as pro-choice while opposing partial-birth abortion and federal funding for abortions.
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Linda McMahon's spending became a key argument of one of her rivals, former congressman Rob Simmons, who accused her of "buying the election".
37.
Linda McMahon defeated her opponents and faced Richard Blumenthal in the general election, losing by 11.8 percentage points.
38.
Immediately after her loss to Blumenthal, Linda McMahon hinted she would run again for Senate in 2012.
39.
Linda McMahon maintained a high profile following the election, running television ads, campaigning for politicians, and making frequent media appearances.
40.
On September 20,2011, in Southington, Connecticut, Linda McMahon officially announced her candidacy.
41.
On May 18,2012, Linda McMahon earned the endorsement of the state Republican Party at the Connecticut State Republican Convention by a delegate vote of 658 to 351 over the next-highest candidate, former congressman Chris Shays.
42.
Linda McMahon defeated Shays by a three-to-one margin, spending $15.7 million of her money on the campaign.
43.
Linda McMahon lost to Democratic US representative Chris Murphy in the general election, marking her second consecutive defeat.
44.
Linda McMahon donated to groups such as American Crossroads and Ending Spending Fund, and associated with fellow mega donor Paul Singer.
45.
In 2016, Linda McMahon donated $6 million to Rebuilding America Now, a Super PAC with the purpose of electing Donald Trump as US president, and in 2015 and 2016 combined, $1.2 million to Future 45, a Super PAC which funded anti-Bernie Sanders advertisements.
46.
On December 7,2016, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Linda McMahon to be the administrator of the Small Business Administration.
47.
Linda McMahon was officially sworn in as the 25th Administrator of the Small Business Administration on February 14,2017.
48.
On June 17,2017, in an interview with CNBC, Linda McMahon stated in her role as administrator of SBA that she is "[l]earning how to develop business plans, how to grow, how to pitch [one's] business when [one is] trying to get investors, or to move into a different market and those are aspects of SBA that are not as well known", as the main goals of the SBA are capital, counseling, contracts and disaster relief.
49.
Linda McMahon stated that the goals were being challenged, as the agency faced a five percent budget cut and future restructuring.
50.
On March 29,2019, Linda McMahon announced her resignation as administrator of the SBA to chair America First Action, a pro-Trump Super PAC.
51.
America First Action, a pro-Trump Super PAC chaired by Linda McMahon, helped raise $83 million for Trump's reelection campaign in 2020.
52.
Linda McMahon serves as chair of the board for the America First Policy Institute, along with Vice Chair Larry Kudlow, former director of the National Economic Council under Trump and Fox Business host.
53.
Linda McMahon went on to join Howard Lutnick as co-chair of Trump's second transition team.
54.
Linda McMahon's nomination was criticized by professionals in the field of education, including by National Education Association president Rebecca S Pringle, who cited Trump's and her own position in support of eliminating the very department she'd be leading, as well as McMahon lacking strong qualifications more generally.
55.
Trump Chose Her for Education", and the subheading, "Linda McMahon, whose resume mainly rests on running World Wrestling Entertainment, has faced questions for years over whether she is suitable for important education posts.
56.
Linda McMahon was a real force for doing ill to kids in our country.
57.
On January 30,2025, corporate filings stated Linda McMahon had received 25,946 restricted shares of Trump Media.
58.
Linda McMahon is an independent director of the social media corporation's board of directors.
59.
Linda McMahon was sworn in by Jacqueline Clay as the 13th United States Secretary of Education on March 3,2025.