White House chief of staff Susie Wiles offered an inside President Donald Trump’s administration in a series of interviews published Tuesday by Vanity Fair magazine, delivering details and reservations that presidential aides usually save for memoirs.
From criticizing Attorney General Pam Bondi as having 鈥渨hiffed鈥� on the Jeffrey Epstein case to saying that no rational person could believe Elon Musk did a good job dismantling the United States Agency for International Development, Wiles revealed her own thoughts about her boss and the work of his aggressive administration. The assessments are even more notable because Wiles, before now, has maintained a .
Wiles dismissed Vanity Fair鈥檚 work as a 鈥渉it piece,鈥� and a number of Cabinet officials and other aides rushed to her defense. But Wiles notably has not denied any details or quotes.
Here are some takeaways from Wiles’ interview:
Wiles defends Trump while comparing him to an alcoholic
Wiles described Trump as an intense figure who thinks in broad strokes yet is often unconcerned about process and policy details.
She assessed Trump as having 鈥渁n alcoholic鈥檚 personality,鈥� even though the president does not drink. But the personality trait is something she recognizes from her father, the famous sports broadcaster .
鈥淗igh-functioning alcoholics or alcoholics in general, their personalities are exaggerated when they drink. And so I鈥檓 a little bit of an expert in big personalities,鈥� she said.
Said Wiles: 鈥淚鈥檓 not an enabler. … I try to be thoughtful about what I even engage in. I guess time will tell whether I鈥檝e been effective.鈥�
Trump鈥檚 revenge crusade has gone longer than Wiles initially wanted
Wiles affirmed Trump鈥檚 ruthlessness and determination to achieve retribution against those he considers his political enemies, especially those who .
鈥淲e have a loose agreement that the score settling will end before the first 90 days are over,鈥� Wiles said early in Trump鈥檚 second administration, telling Vanity Fair she did try to tamp down Trump鈥檚 penchant for retribution.
But in August 2025, she shifted. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think he鈥檚 on a retribution tour,鈥� she said, arguing Trump has a different principle: 鈥溾�業 don鈥檛 want what happened to me to happen to somebody else.鈥欌��
Still, she said, 鈥渢here may be an element of that from time to time鈥� and Trump 鈥渨ill go for it … when there鈥檚 an opportunity.鈥�
鈥淲ho would blame him?鈥� she asked rhetorically. 鈥淣ot me.鈥�
Asked about the prosecution of for mortgage fraud, Wiles allowed, 鈥淲ell, that might be the one retribution.鈥�
On Epstein, Pam Bondi gets scorched and Trump was 鈥榳rong鈥� about Bill Clinton
In some of her most eye-popping commentary, Wiles said Attorney General Pam Bondi 鈥渨hiffed鈥� on handling the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case, particularly trying to manage public expectations by suggesting the Justice Department had a client list waiting to be disclosed only for the administration to later say it .
Wiles also said Trump pushed false narratives that former President Bill Clinton frequented Epstein鈥檚 infamous island. 鈥淭here is no evidence鈥� those visits happened, according to Wiles, and there are no damning findings concerning Clinton at all.
鈥淭he president was wrong about that,鈥� Wiles said.
Wiles pays attention to Trump’s inner circle 鈥� and has thoughts
Wiles often sits to the side in the Oval Office, out of camera view. But she鈥檚 paying attention.
Vice President JD Vance has been 鈥渁 conspiracy theorist for a decade,鈥� she said, and his MAGA conversion 鈥� he once compared 鈥� was 鈥渟ort of political.鈥�
Elon Musk overstepped on his Department of Government Efficiency efforts, she said. She called him 鈥渁 complete solo actor … an odd, odd duck鈥� and an 鈥渁vowed ketamine user.鈥� (Musk has acknowledged using the dissociative anesthetic.) She recalled having to explain to him that 鈥測ou can鈥檛 just lock people out of their offices鈥� and said his left her 鈥渋nitially aghast.鈥�
“Because I think anybody that pays attention to government and has ever paid attention to USAID believed, as I did, that they do very good work,” she said, adding that “no rational person could think the USAID process was a good one. Nobody.鈥�
She calls Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 鈥渜uirky Bobby鈥� and White House budget chief 鈥渁 right-wing absolute zealot.鈥�
But in praising Kennedy, Wiles explained her embrace of the administration鈥檚 hard-liners: 鈥淗e pushes the envelope 鈥� some would say too far. But I say in order to get back to the middle, you have to push it too far.鈥�
Wiles sees Trump鈥檚 tariffs as 鈥榤ore painful鈥� than expected
Few events undermined Trump鈥檚 standing quite like his April 2 announcement of in which he announced import taxes ranging from 10% to 99% on most of the world. Trump鈥檚 move sparked recession fears and a delay in imposing his wider tariff strategy, leading to a rollercoaster of negotiations and new tariff threats.
Wiles called the April rollout 鈥渟o much thinking out loud鈥� and said there were internal disputes about it among Trump鈥檚 aides. She said she told aides to 鈥渨ork into what he鈥檚 already thinking鈥� and asked Vance to tell Trump to 鈥渘ot talk about tariffs today鈥� until his team was 鈥渋n complete unity.鈥�
Trump proceeded on his own.
Wiles said she believed a middle ground on tariffs would be successful. But, she concluded, 鈥淚t鈥檚 been more painful than I expected.鈥�
Wiles concedes mistakes on immigration
When a federal judge chided the administration for deporting Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Trump publicly defended the approach despite the administration telling the court it was a mistake. Wiles did not mince words, telling Vanity Fair at the time, “We鈥檝e got to look harder at our process for deportation.鈥�
When the administration deported two mothers and their U.S. citizen children, including one who was a cancer patient, Wiles was even more plainspoken: 鈥淚t could be an overzealous Border Patrol agent, I don鈥檛 know. I can鈥檛 understand how you make that mistake, but somebody did.鈥�
Trump is more skeptical of Putin鈥檚 intentions than reflected in public
After nearly four years of fighting, Trump has made the case that Russian President Vladimir Putin can be persuaded to end the if Kyiv agrees to cede Ukrainian land in the eastern Donbas region and if Western powers offer economic incentives that would bring Russia back into the economic world order.
鈥淚 actually think that President Putin wants to see it end,鈥� Trump told reporters Monday.
But Wiles offered deep skepticism to Vanity Fair about Putin.
鈥淭he experts think that if he could get the rest of Donetsk, then he would be happy,鈥� Wiles said in August, referring to the oblast that is a key part of Donbas.
鈥淒onald Trump thinks he wants the whole country,鈥� Wiles told her interviewer.
For Trump, boat strikes are about knocking Nicol谩s Maduro out of power
Wiles said in November that Trump 鈥渨ants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle.鈥�
Trump has repeatedly said Maduro鈥檚 鈥渄ays are numbered鈥� as the U.S. intensifies deadly attacks on vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific. The administration alleges the targets are drug-smuggling cartels.
Still, Trump and administration officials have stopped short of saying they want to topple the Maduro regime. They insist the strikes, which have killed at least 95 people in since September, are a strategy to stem the flow of fentanyl and other illegal drugs into the U.S.
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Associated Press reporters Aamer Madhani and Josh Boak contributed from Washington.
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