Sign In
By signing in or creating an account, you agree with Associated Broadcasting Company's Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
By signing in or creating an account, you agree with Associated Broadcasting Company's Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
New Delhi: White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles' explosive insider account of US President Donald Trump's second term has triggered a political storm in Washington, exposing internal tensions over tariffs, immigration enforcement and sensitive legal matters, while pushing the White House into damage-control mode.
The remarks, drawn from a series of interviews conducted by author Chris Whipple and published by Vanity Fair, offer blunt assessments of Trump's personality, policy-making style and the powerful figures surrounding him.
Wiles, a veteran political operator known for working behind the scenes, described Trump as an intense and instinct-driven leader, memorably characterising him as having "an alcoholic's personality" despite being a teetotaller. She explained that the comparison stems from her upbringing as the daughter of an alcoholic, saying it gave her insight into managing people with exaggerated traits and outsized confidence.
"He has a view that there's nothing he can't do," Wiles said, adding that her role is not to restrain the president but to translate his impulses into policy. She stressed that being overruled does not bother her, noting that when internal debates end in a tie, "he wins".
Wiles also addressed Trump's long-discussed desire for retribution against political adversaries, saying there was an early understanding within the administration that "score settling" would end within the first 90 days. While she later concluded Trump was not on an open-ended revenge campaign, she acknowledged he does not hesitate to act when opportunities arise.
Among the most sensitive revelations were Wiles' remarks on the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. She criticised Attorney General Pam Bondi's management of expectations around the release of Epstein-related documents, saying Bondi "completely whiffed" by suggesting damaging information would emerge before the Justice Department later said no such client list existed. Wiles said she reviewed the files herself, confirmed Trump's name appears in them, but insisted he was "not doing anything awful".
Her assessments extended to major figures in Trump's inner circle. She described Vice President JD Vance as having been "a conspiracy theorist for a decade" and suggested his political evolution was pragmatic. She was more blunt about billionaire Elon Musk, who led Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, calling him "a complete solo actor" and an "avowed ketamine user", and saying his dismantling of USAID left her "initially aghast".
Wiles also acknowledged shortcomings in policy execution, including chaotic rollouts of tariff and deportation cases. She said such episodes hihlight the need for stronger internal processes and safeguards.
Trying to limit the damage control, Wiles publicly rejected the Vanity Fair profile as a "disingenuously framed hit piece", while Trump and senior aides moved quickly to defend her leadership.
