White House chiefs of staff don’t usually talk like this. And they definitely don’t talk like this about their own president.
But Susie Wiles did.
In a series of unusually candid interviews with author Chris Whipple, published by Vanity Fair, Donald Trump’s chief of staff offered a raw, sometimes unsettling look at how the president thinks, governs, and settles scores in his second term. Her comments sent shockwaves through Washington not because they came from an outsider, but because they came from the person Trump himself often calls the “most powerful woman in the world.”
At the center of the controversy is one striking description. Wiles said Trump has what she calls “an alcoholic’s personality,” despite the fact that he does not drink.
What she meant, she explained, is an exaggerated sense of invincibility. A belief that nothing is impossible, nothing is off-limits, and nothing can stop him.
“Nothing, zero, nothing,” she said, describing Trump’s worldview.
Retribution, admitted out loud
Wiles also did something few top aides ever do: she acknowledged that revenge has played a role in Trump’s second-term decisions.
Early on, she said there was an informal understanding that “score settling” would wind down within the first 90 days of his return to office. That didn’t fully happen.
While she initially resisted the idea that Trump was on a “retribution tour,” she later conceded that in some cases, that’s exactly how it looks.
“And there may be an element of that from time to time,” she said.
When asked specifically about the administration’s attempt to prosecute New York Attorney General Letitia James, who led the civil fraud case against Trump before his return to office, Wiles didn’t dodge the implication.
“Well, that might be the one retribution,” she admitted.
The case against James ultimately collapsed after a judge ruled the appointed prosecutor was invalid, and subsequent efforts to revive it failed. Still, Wiles’ acknowledgment was remarkable. It was an insider confirming what critics have long alleged.
A rare look behind the curtain
These comments came from more than ten interviews conducted over the course of Trump’s first year back in the White House. Wiles, known for operating quietly and efficiently, rarely gives public interviews. That’s part of why her remarks landed so hard.
She described a West Wing often divided on major policy decisions, including Trump’s sweeping “reciprocal” tariff plan. The rollout, branded by Trump as “Liberation Day,” followed what Wiles called a chaotic period of internal disagreement.
“So much thinking out loud,” she said, recalling advisers who couldn’t get themselves to fully support the plan.
Her philosophy, by contrast, was blunt: if you’re in the room, get on board.
Sharp words for powerful allies
Wiles didn’t limit her candor to Trump.
She suggested Vice President JD Vance’s transformation from Trump critic to MAGA standard-bearer was “sort of political.” She labeled Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, a key figure behind Project 2025, a “right-wing absolute zealot.”
Her assessment of Attorney General Pam Bondi was even harsher. Wiles said Bondi “completely whiffed” her handling of materials related to Jeffrey Epstein, especially when she handed conservative influencers binders filled with what Wiles described as “nothingness.”
“There is no client list,” Wiles said flatly, dismissing claims that such a document ever existed.
She also took aim at Elon Musk, who briefly ran Trump’s government-slashing DOGE initiative. Wiles called Musk “an odd, odd duck,” accused him of being an “avowed ketamine” user, and said she was “aghast” when his team moved to dismantle USAID.
She acknowledged Musk’s speed-first mindset, but questioned the damage it caused.
“You’re going to break some china,” she said. “But no rational person could think the USAID process was a good one. Nobody.”
Wiles fires back
After the interviews went public, Wiles moved quickly to push back.
In a post on X, she called the article a “disingenuously framed hit piece,” accusing Vanity Fair of stripping away context to create a narrative of chaos and dysfunction. She emphasized her loyalty to Trump and said she was honored to have worked for him for nearly a decade.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt backed her up, praising Wiles’ leadership and calling Trump’s first 11 months back in office “the most successful” in U.S. history.
But notably, neither Wiles nor the White House denied the quotes themselves.
That silence only fueled speculation inside Trump’s orbit. Allies privately admitted they were stunned. Group chats lit up. Questions spread fast. Why say this now? Why so openly? And what does it mean?
Everyone agreed on one thing: Susie Wiles is calculated. An interview like this doesn’t happen by accident.
Whether her comments reshape public understanding of Trump’s leadership or quietly fade under the weight of the news cycle, they’ve already done something rare in modern politics. They pulled back the curtain and showed what power looks like from the inside, unfiltered, uncomfortable, and impossible to ignore.
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