Susie Wiles: What top Trump aide said in her Vanity Fair interview

United States President Donald Trump’s main of staff, who is known for operating from good down the scenes, has abruptly travel nether the media spotlight arsenic candid interviews with Vanity Fair mag person stirred controversy.

In the interviews, Susie Wiles was quoted arsenic describing Trump arsenic having an “alcoholic’s personality”, tech tycoon Elon Musk arsenic an “odd, unusual duck” and Vice President JD Vance arsenic a “conspiracy theorist”.

Wiles slammed the two-part Vanity Fair article, which was published connected Tuesday, calling it a “hit piece”.

Trump is lasting by his apical aide, whom helium has called the “ice maiden”, and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “The full medication is … agreed afloat down her.”

Here is simply a person look astatine who Wiles is and what the study says:

What is the ground of the Vanity Fair article?

Vanity Fair published a two-part study astir the 2nd Trump administration, which began successful January. The study is based connected the interviews with Wiles by American documentary filmmaker and writer Chris Whipple implicit the people of the past year.

Wiles chronicled the archetypal twelvemonth of Trump’s 2nd word “amid each infinitesimal of crisis”, Whipple, who conducted 11 on-the-record interviews with Wiles, wrote.

The archetypal of these interviews took spot connected January 11, a week earlier Trump’s inauguration.

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles speaks with chap attendees during a reception for Sergio Gor, the precocious sworn-in US Ambassador to India, astatine the Kennedy Center successful Washington, DC, US, connected November 10, 2025 [File: Nathan Howard/Reuters]

Who is Susie Wiles?

Wiles, 68, is the main of unit astatine the White House. She is the archetypal pistillate successful past to clasp this position.

In 2015, Wiles was invited to Trump Tower successful New York to conscionable Trump arsenic helium was transitioning from being a existent property developer to a statesmanlike candidate.

In the Vanity Fair piece, Whipple described her arsenic “the astir almighty idiosyncratic successful Trump’s White House different than the president himself”.

Whipple quoted an unnamed erstwhile Republican Party person arsenic saying: “So galore decisions of large effect are being made connected the whim of the president. And arsenic acold arsenic I tin tell, the lone unit that tin nonstop oregon transmission that whim is Susie.”

Wiles has risen from a Capitol Hill intern successful the 1970s to a apical Republican strategist. At the property of 23, she landed a occupation arsenic a scheduler successful the White House erstwhile Republican Ronald Reagan was president.

Wiles’s puerility was difficult. Her father, Pat Summerall, a well-known American shot announcer, was an alcoholic. She was raised successful Stamford, Connecticut and Saddle River, New Jersey, according to the Vanity Fair article.

What did Wiles accidental astir Trump and his aides?

Here’s what Wiles told Vanity Fair astir Trump and his aides, and present is however immoderate of them reacted:

Trump

According to the Vanity Fair report, Wiles said she ne'er doubted Trump would triumph the statesmanlike predetermination successful November 2024.

She added that she was going to contiguous a “new Trump” to the nationalist and adjacent told Hakeem Jeffries, the person of the Democrats successful the House of Representatives, earlier Trump’s inauguration that helium would spot a antithetic broadside of Trump successful his 2nd term. Trump would beryllium calmer and without a temper, she said.

“I’ve not seen him propulsion anything, I’ve not seen him scream. I didn’t spot that truly horrible behaviour that radical speech astir and that I really experienced years ago,” Whipple quoted Wiles arsenic saying successful his article.

Although Trump is simply a teetotaller, Wiles was quoted arsenic saying Trump “has an alcoholic’s personality” and helium “operates [with] a presumption that there’s thing helium can’t do. Nothing, zero, nothing”.

In an interrogation with the New York Post published connected Tuesday, Trump defended Wiles.

About the alcoholic comment, Trump said: “She meant that I’m – you see, I don’t portion alcohol. So everybody knows that, but I’ve often said that if I did, I’d person a precise bully accidental of being an alcoholic. I person said that galore times astir myself. I do. It’s a precise possessive personality.”

Talking astir Whipple’s report, Trump said, “I didn’t work it, but I don’t work Vanity Fair, but [Wiles has] done a fantastic job.”

“I deliberation from what I hear, the facts were wrong, and it was a precise misguided interviewer, purposely misguided,” the New York Post quoted Trump arsenic saying.

Leavitt besides backed Wiles during a Fox News quality connected Tuesday.

“I would conscionable echo my boss, Susie Wiles, who is the champion main of unit successful our nation’s history, moving for the top president successful our nation’s history,” Leavitt said. “This was, unfortunately, different effort astatine fake quality by a newsman who was acting disingenuously and truly did instrumentality the chief’s words retired of context.

“The newsman omitted each of the affirmative things that Susie and our squad said astir the president and the interior workings of the White House.”

JD Vance

Wiles said the vice president went from opposing Trump to afloat supporting him mostly for governmental reasons. She besides described Vance arsenic being into conspiracy theories for astir 10 years.

Vance, who besides said helium had not work the Vanity Fair article, backed Wiles during an code successful the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania connected Tuesday.

“You cognize wherefore I truly emotion Susie Wiles? Because Susie is who she is successful the president’s beingness [and] she’s the aforesaid nonstop idiosyncratic erstwhile the president isn’t around,” Vance said.

“I’ve ne'er seen her beryllium disloyal to the president of the United States, and that makes her the champion White House main of unit that the president could inquire for,” helium said.

Elon Musk

Wiles besides expressed opinions astir billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, CEO of the backstage abstraction exploration institution SpaceX and the electrical car institution Tesla.

During the archetypal fewer months of Trump’s 2nd term, Musk was his adjacent aide, overseeing the Trump-created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which was meant to slash US authorities bureaucracy. DOGE became known for carrying retired wide layoffs of national authorities workers and abruptly shutting down the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Wiles described Musk arsenic a “solo actor”, telling Whipple that “the situation with Elon is keeping up with him.”

“He’s an avowed ketamine [user]. And helium sleeps successful a sleeping container successful the EOB [Executive Office Building] successful the daytime. And he’s an odd, unusual duck, arsenic I deliberation geniuses are. You know, it’s not helpful, but helium is his ain person,” Wiles was quoted successful the Vanity Fair nonfiction arsenic saying.

Musk has not publically reacted to the article. In March, helium posted connected X – formerly known arsenic Twitter, the societal media level helium bought successful 2022 – saying, “I’m a large instrumentality of Susie Wiles,” successful effect to a video of him helping Wiles retired with a bag.

When Trump named Wiles his main of unit aft winning the November 2024 election, Musk posted a screenshot of quality astir the announcement and wrote: “Susie Wiles is great.”

Pam Bondi

In the interview, Wiles besides criticised Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. The affluent convicted paedophile died by termination successful 2019 successful a Manhattan jailhouse cell. Epstein was awaiting proceedings connected enactment trafficking charges.

Conspiracy theorists claim, however, that helium mightiness person been murdered due to the fact that helium maintained a concealed lawsuit database of almighty individuals, including politicians, who allegedly abused underage girls. In July, the US Department of Justice, which Bondi heads, concluded that Epstein had nary lawsuit list.

The Justice Department memo angered right-wing conspiracy theorists and a conception of the US president’s basal of supporters due to the fact that it was seen arsenic a retreat from a communicative erstwhile promoted by members of the Trump administration.

When Bondi was asked successful an interrogation with Fox News successful February astir a expected database of Epstein’s clients, she responded: “It’s sitting connected my table close present to review.”

The aforesaid month, governmental commentators and far-right influencers were invited to the White House and presented with documents called “The Epstein Files: Phase 1”. Bondi released these documents, which did not incorporate thing revelatory astir the Epstein case.

Whipple wrote that Wiles said Bondi “completely whiffed” connected knowing that the blimpish influencers she invited to the White House were precisely the assemblage astir funny successful the documents.

Wiles was quoted arsenic saying Bondi gave the influencers “binders afloat of nothingness”. Wiles emphasised: “There is nary lawsuit list, and it definite arsenic hellhole wasn’t connected her desk.”

What was Wiles’s  sentiment connected different issues?

Trump’s January 6 pardons

On January 6, 2021, thousands of rioters, fuelled by mendacious claims that the 2020 statesmanlike predetermination was rigged, stormed the US Capitol to effort to halt the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s triumph implicit Trump.

More than 2,000 radical broke into the spot of the US Congress, vandalised offices and fought with police, leaving astatine slightest 5 radical dormant and galore injured.

About 1,270 radical were convicted of national crimes implicit the riot, and their situation sentences ranged from a fewer years to much than 2 decades for leaders of far-right groups.

On the time helium was inaugurated for his 2nd term, Trump pardoned oregon commuted the sentences of 1,500 radical who were convicted oregon indicted successful the riots, calling their attraction “outrageous”.

Wiles told Whipple that she questioned Trump pardoning each 1,500.

She was quoted successful Vanity Fair arsenic saying: “I said, ‘I americium connected committee with the radical that were happenstancers oregon didn’t bash thing violent. And we surely cognize what everybody did due to the fact that the FBI has done specified an unthinkable job.'”

She added that Trump asserted that adjacent the convulsive offenders were unfairly treated.

The USAID shutdown

Wiles said she was “aghast” erstwhile she learned USAID had been unopen down.

“I deliberation anybody that pays attraction to authorities and has ever paid attraction to USAID believed, arsenic I did, that they bash precise bully work,” she was quoted arsenic saying by Whipple.

Attacks connected alleged cause boats

Since September, US subject strikes connected much than 20 boats successful the Caribbean and eastbound Pacific person killed more than 80 people. The Trump medication has alleged, without evidence, that these boats beryllium to cause cartels and transportation drugs. It has besides accused Venezuela’s left-wing authorities of being progressive successful cause trafficking.

“We prevention 25,000 radical each clip we sound retired a boat,” Trump claimed during an interrogation with Politico published past week.

Wiles was quoted by Whipple arsenic saying: “The president believes successful harsh penalties for cause dealers, arsenic he’s said many, galore times. … These are not sportfishing boats arsenic immoderate would similar to allege.

“The president says 25,000. I don’t cognize what the fig is. But helium views those arsenic lives saved, not radical killed.”

Wiles besides affirmed that Trump wants to support bombing alleged cause boats successful the waters disconnected the seashore of Venezuela until that country’s leader, Nicolas Maduro, “cries uncle”.

How did Wiles respond to the Vanity Fair piece?

Wiles criticised the Vanity Fair nonfiction arsenic a “disingenuously framed deed piece”.

“The nonfiction published aboriginal this greeting is simply a disingenuously framed deed portion connected maine and the finest President, White House staff, and Cabinet successful history,” she wrote connected X connected Tuesday.

“Significant discourse was disregarded and overmuch of what I, and others, said astir the squad and the President was near retired of the story. I assume, aft speechmaking it, that this was done to overgarment an overwhelmingly chaotic and antagonistic communicative astir the President and our team,” she added.

She past went connected to assertion that Trump has achieved much successful his 2nd word successful 11 months than immoderate president successful 8 years.