Inside Trump’s Administration: Chief of Staff Susie Wiles Opens Up

Susie Wiles, the 68‑year‑old chief of staff who stepped into the Oval Office for an initially six‑month tenure, gave Vanity Fair a rare, unfiltered look at the inner workings of the Trump administration in a two‑part profile released Tuesday. The interviews, conducted by Chris Whipple, a specialist on White House chiefs of staff, span a year of conversations that touch on policy, personalities and the day‑to‑day dynamics that keep the president’s agenda moving.

Trump’s “Alcoholic” Personality

Wiles opened the conversation by describing President Trump’s demeanor as “an alcoholic’s personality,” even though Trump does not consume alcohol. “Some clinical psychologist that knows one million times more than I do will dispute what I’m going to say. But high‑functioning alcoholics or alcoholics in general, their personalities are exaggerated when they drink,” Wiles said. “And so I’m a little bit of an expert in big personalities.” She added that Trump “operates [with] a view that there’s nothing he can’t do. Nothing, zero, nothing.” Trump responded in a New York Post interview, defending Wiles and saying she has “done a fantastic job.” He added, “You see, I don’t drink alcohol. So everybody knows that — but I’ve often said that if I did, I’d have a very good chance of being an alcoholic. I have said that many times about myself, I do. It’s a very possessive personality,” the president said.

Leadership Style and Accountability

Wiles said she is neither an enabler nor a “bitch,” and that she “tries to be thoughtful about what I even engage in.” “I guess time will tell whether I’ve been effective,” she added. She also told Vanity Fair that Trump will not seek a third term, citing the 22nd Amendment. “He knows he can’t run again,” she said, noting that Trump has told her the same. After the profile’s release, Wiles denounced the story on X as “a disingenuously framed hit piece on me and the finest President, White House staff, and Cabinet in history,” claiming that “significant context was disregarded” and that the piece was “done to paint an overwhelmingly chaotic and negative narrative about the President and our team.”

The Press Secretary’s Praise

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a statement that echoed Wiles’ own praise of her work. “Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has helped President Trump achieve the most successful first 11 months in office of any President in American history. President Trump has no greater or more loyal advisor than Susie. The entire Administration is grateful for her steady leadership and united fully behind her.”

No Retribution Tour

When asked about Trump’s approach to political enemies, Wiles said she has reminded the president that “the score settling will end before the first 90 days are over.” In August she added, “I don’t think he’s on a retribution tour. A governing principle for him is, ‘I don’t want what happened to me to happen to somebody else.’ And so people that have done bad things need to get out of the government. In some cases, it may look like retribution. And there may be an element of that from time to time. Who would blame him? Not me.”

Trump’s Health and Conduct

Wiles defended Trump’s health after a magnetic resonance imaging scan of his cardiovascular system and abdomen, released in October. She said the imaging was “perfectly normal.” She also dismissed reports that Trump falls asleep in Cabinet meetings, saying, “He’s not asleep. He’s got his eyes closed and his head leaned back … and, you know, he’s fine.”

Venezuela Operations

The chief of staff defended the administration’s maritime actions against vessels linked to Venezuela. “He wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle,” she said, referring to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Wiles explained that Trump believes in harsh penalties for drug dealers, and that the vessels are not fishing boats. “These are not fishing boats, as some would like to allege,” she added. She said the administration has “very sure we know who we’re blowing up” and cites CIA intelligence, noting that congressional approval is not yet required for sea attacks but would be needed for actions on the Venezuelan mainland.

Epstein Files and Pam Bondi

Wiles critiqued Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. She said she had read the “Epstein file” and that “Trump is in it, he’s not doing anything awful.” Wiles disputed Trump’s claims about former President Bill Clinton, saying there is no evidence that Clinton visited an Epstein island 28 times. “The president was wrong about that,” she said. She also said Bondi “completely whiffed” on appreciating the targeted group that cared about the files, noting that Bondi had given binders “full of nothingness” and claimed a client list was on her desk when there was none.

Vice President Mike Vance

Wiles labeled Vice President Mike Vance a “conspiracy theorist” and said he had changed his view of Trump during his Senate campaign. “His conversion came when he was running for the Senate. And I think his conversion was a little bit more, sort of political,” she said. Vance, in an Allentown interview, acknowledged that he sometimes believes in conspiracies but only those that are true. He added that he loves Wiles because she remains consistent “in the president’s presence” and “when the president isn’t around.”

Elon Musk’s Role

Wiles also discussed Elon Musk’s brief tenure in the Trump administration. She described Musk as “an odd, odd duck” who is “avowed ketamine [user]” and sleeps in a sleeping bag in the Executive Office Building during the day. Musk’s departure was announced on X on May 28, after his “scheduled time” ended. Wiles said she was initially “aghast” when Musk dismantled the United States Agency for International Development. “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. She added that Musk had “shut it down, fire everybody, shut them out, and then go rebuild,” a decision she said she would not have made.

Key Takeaways

• Susie Wiles portrays President Trump as a high‑functioning alcoholic personality who believes nothing is beyond his reach.
• Wiles claims Trump will not run for a third term and has been praised by the White House press secretary for her leadership.
• The administration’s actions against Venezuelan vessels and its handling of the Epstein files are defended by Wiles, while she criticizes the Attorney General’s approach.
• Vice President Mike Vance’s shift toward Trump is noted, and Elon Musk’s controversial role in the administration is highlighted.

The profile paints a picture of a chief of staff who sees herself as a thoughtful, loyal steward of Trump’s agenda, while also acknowledging the controversies that have surrounded the administration’s policies and personnel choices.