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White House chief of staff Susie Wiles offered a series of strikingly candid — and at times unflattering — assessments of President Donald Trump, his second-term agenda and several of his closest allies in wide-ranging interviews published Tuesday by Vanity Fair, comments that sent shock waves through Trump’s inner circle and prompted swift damage control from the administration.
Across more than 10 interviews conducted over the past year with author Chris Whipple, Wiles spoke openly about Trump’s governing style, his motivations and moments when he ignored her advice. The remarks stood in sharp contrast to Wiles’ typically low public profile and her reputation as a disciplined operator who has helped stabilize a White House long defined by internal chaos.
Background
Wiles, whom Trump regularly calls the “most powerful woman in the world,” has retained the president’s confidence in part by running a West Wing that functions smoothly without openly challenging his impulses. Unlike Trump’s first-term chiefs of staff, she has few internal enemies and has rarely spoken publicly about internal deliberations.
That made her comments to Whipple — whose book “The Gatekeepers” is widely regarded as a definitive account of the chief of staff role — all the more notable.
In the interviews, Wiles described Trump as having “an alcoholic’s personality,” despite his long-standing claim to abstain from alcohol, and said he governs with “a view that there’s nothing he can’t do. Nothing, zero, nothing.” She noted that she grew up with an alcoholic father, the late sportscaster Pat Summerall, and said she was familiar with “big personalities.”
Legal and Policy Implications
Wiles acknowledged that retribution plays a role in Trump’s second-term actions, conceding that prosecutions of political opponents could appear vindictive.
“I mean, people could think it does look vindictive,” she said when asked about the failed prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey. “I can’t tell you why you shouldn’t think that.”
She also said Trump lacked evidence to support his accusation that former President Bill Clinton visited the private island of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“There is no evidence,” Wiles said, adding that Trump “was wrong about that.”
On Venezuela, Wiles suggested Trump was effectively pursuing regime change, saying the president wanted to keep striking boats linked to the Maduro government “until Maduro cries uncle,” a characterization that undercut the administration’s official explanations for the military actions. She acknowledged Trump would need congressional authorization for broader strikes he has said could come “soon.”
Government Response
Within hours of publication, Wiles said the article misrepresented her views.
“The article published early this morning is a disingenuously framed hit piece,” Wiles wrote on X, saying significant context was omitted to portray the administration as chaotic and negative.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a statement underscoring Trump’s confidence in his chief of staff.
“The President has no greater or more loyal advisor than Susie,” Leavitt said, adding that the administration stood “fully behind her.”
Reactions From Allies and Critics
The interviews nevertheless rattled Trump’s orbit. One ally told CNN the quotes were “in every group chat,” while a senior adviser summed up the reaction with a single word: “Yikes.”
Wiles offered pointed critiques of several prominent figures. She described Vice President JD Vance as having “been a conspiracy theorist for a decade” and suggested his shift from Trump critic to ally was “sort of political.” She called tech billionaire Elon Musk “an odd, odd duck” and said his move to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development left her “aghast.” She labeled Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought a “right-wing absolute zealot,” though Vought later said on X that Wiles was an “exceptional” chief of staff and an ally.
Wiles also criticized Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of the Epstein files, saying Bondi “completely whiffed” by distributing binders of largely uninformative materials to conservative influencers and incorrectly suggesting a client list existed.
Broader Context
Wiles’ remarks touched on several policy debates that have defined Trump’s second term. She said the administration needed to “look harder” to avoid errors in deportations, urged Trump unsuccessfully not to pardon the most violent Jan. 6 rioters and pushed — without success — to delay major tariff announcements amid sharp internal disagreements.
She also said she wanted Trump to focus more on the economy and less on Saudi Arabia and weighed in on potential successors, contrasting figures such as Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, both of whom initially opposed Trump before aligning with him.
Next Steps
While Wiles insisted her comments were taken out of context, she did not deny making them, a point noted by several Trump advisers. The episode has fueled speculation inside Trump circles about why she spoke so openly, whether her relationship with the president has shifted and what it signals about the administration’s internal dynamics heading into the next phase of Trump’s term.
For now, Trump has offered no public criticism of his chief of staff, and aides say Wiles remains firmly in place — even as her unusually candid remarks continue to reverberate through Washington.
