WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Susie Wiles, President Donald Trump鈥檚 understated but influential chief of staff, criticized Attorney General Pam Bondi鈥檚 handling of the case and offered an unvarnished take on her boss and those in his orbit in interviews published Tuesday in Vanity Fair that sent the West Wing into damage control.
The startlingly candid remarks from Wiles, included describing the president as someone with 鈥渁n alcoholic鈥檚 personality,鈥� and Vice President JD Vance as a calculating 鈥渃onspiracy theorist.鈥� The observations from Wiles, who rarely speaks publicly given the behind-the-scenes nature of her job running the White House, prompted questions about whether the chief of staff might be on her way out.
Wiles pushed back after the piece’s publication, describing it as a 鈥渉it piece鈥� that lacked context, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the 鈥渆ntire Administration is grateful for her steady leadership and united fully behind her.鈥�
As for Trump, he told the New York Post that he hadn’t read the piece. When asked if he retained confidence in Wiles, he said, 鈥淥h, she鈥檚 fantastic.鈥�
Trump also agreed that he does have the personality of an alcoholic, describing himself as having 鈥渁 very possessive personality.鈥�
A senior White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal thinking, dismissed the notion that Wiles might leave because of the profile, saying if they were rattled by negative news coverage 鈥渘one of us would work here.鈥�
Wiles’ candor was so unusual that Rahm Emanuel, who served as chief of staff to former President Barack Obama, said that when he first read her comments, he thought it was a spoof. He said he could not recall a chief of staff giving such a candid interview, at least 鈥渘ot while you hold the title.鈥�
Emanuel said the role often involves public remarks that promote the president鈥檚 agenda, but not sharing personal views about 鈥渆verything, everybody鈥� in the White House.
His advice to Wiles: 鈥淣ext time there鈥檚 a meal, bring a food taster.鈥�
Candor from the 鈥榠ce maiden鈥� who stays behind the scenes
The interviews with Vanity Fair were themselves uncharacteristic for Wiles, who cut her reputation as someone who brought order to the president’s chaotic style and shunned the spotlight so much that at Trump’s 2024 election night victory party, she repeatedly shook her head and avoided the microphone as Trump tried to coax her to speak to the crowd.
鈥淪usie likes to stay sort of in the back,” said Trump, who has repeatedly referred to her as the 鈥渋ce maiden.鈥�
Most members of his Cabinet, along with former and current White House officials, posted statements praising Wiles and criticizing the media as dishonest.
But neither Wiles nor the members of the administration who came to her defense Tuesday disputed any details in the two-part profile, including areas where she conceded mistakes and seemed to contradict the administration’s official reasoning for its bombing of alleged drug boats in the waters .
Though the Trump administration has said the campaign is about stopping drugs headed to the U.S., Wiles appeared to confirm that the campaign is part of a push to oust Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicol谩s Maduro, saying Trump 鈥渨ants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle.鈥�
Wiles pushed back but without any denials
After the comments were published, Wiles disparaged it as a 鈥渄isingenuously framed hit piece on me and the finest President, White House staff, and Cabinet in history.鈥�
鈥淪ignificant context was disregarded and much of what I, and others, said about the team and the President was left out of the story,鈥� she wrote in a social media post. 鈥淚 assume, after reading it, that this was done to paint an overwhelmingly chaotic and negative narrative about the President and our team.鈥�
Trump, in an interview with the New York Post, said he was not offended by Wiles’ remarks, including her description of him as someone with 鈥渁n alcoholic鈥檚 personality鈥� that she recognizes from her father, the famous sports broadcaster Pat Summerall.
The president, who is a teetotaler and had a brother who struggled with alcohol, said: “I鈥檝e said that many times about myself. I鈥檓 fortunate I鈥檓 not a drinker. If I did, I could very well, because I鈥檝e said that 鈥� what鈥檚 the word? Not possessive 鈥� possessive and addictive type personality. Oh, I鈥檝e said it many times, many times before.鈥�
Vance, speaking in Pennsylvania on Tuesday about the president鈥檚 economic agenda, said he hadn鈥檛 read the Vanity Fair piece. But he defended Wiles and joked, 鈥淚 only believe in the conspiracy theories that are true.鈥�
鈥淪usie Wiles, we have our disagreements. We agree on much more than we disagree, but I鈥檝e never seen her be disloyal to the president of the United States, and that makes her the best White House chief of staff that I think the president could ask for,鈥� Vance said.
He said his takeaway was that the administration 鈥渟hould be giving fewer interviews to mainstream media outlets.鈥�
The chief of staff criticizes the attorney general
Wiles, over the series of interviews, described the president behind the scenes very much as he presents himself in public: an intense figure who thinks in broad strokes yet is often not concerned with the details of process and policy. She added, though, that he has not been as angry or temperamental as is often suggested, even as she affirmed his ruthlessness and determination to achieve retribution against those he considers his political enemies.
Wiles described much of her job as channeling Trump鈥檚 energy, whims and desired policy outcomes — including managing his desire for vengeance against his political opponents, anyone he blames for his 2020 electoral defeat and those who pursued criminal cases against him after his first term.
On Epstein, Wiles told the magazine that she underestimated the scandal involving the disgraced financier, but she sharply criticized how managed the case and the public鈥檚 expectations.
Wiles criticized Bondi’s handling of the matter, going back to earlier in the year when she distributed binders to a group of social media influencers that included no new information about Epstein. That led to even more calls from Trump’s base for the files to be released.
鈥淚 think she completely whiffed on appreciating that that was the very targeted group that cared about this,鈥� Wiles said of Bondi. 鈥淔irst she gave them binders full of nothingness. And then she said that the witness list, or the client list, was on her desk. There is no client list, and it sure as hell wasn鈥檛 on her desk.鈥�
Bondi did not address the criticism when she released a statement supporting Wiles.
Wiles also said at one point that Trump鈥檚 tariffs had been more painful than expected. She conceded some mistakes in Trump鈥檚 mass deportation program and suggested that the president鈥檚 retribution campaign against his perceived political enemies has gone beyond what she initially wanted.
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Barrow reported from Atlanta.
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