White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has publicly disputed portions of a Vanity Fair article portraying her and the Trump administration in a critical light. The article included remarks about President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, sparking a wave of media attention and political discussion.
Wiles Challenges Vanity Fair Reporting
Wiles, the first woman to hold the position of White House Chief of Staff, took to X (formerly Twitter) to argue that Vanity Fair ignored “significant context” in its story. She said the magazine framed an “overwhelmingly chaotic and negative narrative” about the administration, leaving out key aspects of her interviews.
At 68, Wiles played a pivotal role in Trump’s successful 2024 presidential campaign and later assumed the top position at the White House, becoming one of the most influential figures in his administration.
Comments on Trump and Vice President Vance
In her interviews with Vanity Fair, Wiles described Trump as having an “alcoholic’s personality”, referring to his approach to decision-making rather than actual drinking habits. She characterized him as someone who believes “there’s nothing he can’t do. Nothing, zero, nothing.”
Trump himself defended Wiles in a New York Post interview, calling her “fantastic” and suggesting she may have been misled by the writer. He also noted that her comments on his personality echoed his own public statements.
Regarding Vice President JD Vance, Wiles noted that he had previously been a critic of Trump but had since become a close ally. She described Vance’s political evolution as “sort of political” and characterized him as a long-time “conspiracy theorist,” a claim Vance partially dismissed, asserting he only follows conspiracy theories he believes to be true.
Elon Musk and Government Reforms
Wiles reserved some of her strongest comments for Elon Musk, who briefly led cost-cutting initiatives at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) before leaving the administration in May. Wiles described Musk as an “avowed Ketamine [user]” who “sleeps in a sleeping bag in the Executive Office Building” and called him an “odd, odd duck” with genius-level capabilities.
She also criticized Musk’s approach to government efficiency, particularly regarding cuts to USAID, expressing that she was “initially aghast” at the idea. Wiles suggested that Musk’s rapid approach to reforms, while effective for private ventures, may not be suitable for government processes.
Wiles’ Defense and White House Support
Hours after the Vanity Fair article’s publication, Wiles defended herself on X, calling the story a “disingenuously framed hit piece.” She emphasized that much of what she and other staffers said was omitted or misrepresented.
The White House echoed her defense. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described Wiles as a critical contributor to Trump’s “most successful first 11 months in office of any President in American history.” Leavitt accused Vanity Fair of “bias of omission” and taking Wiles’ words “wildly out of context.”
Musk has not yet publicly responded to the article.
Susie Wiles’ Career and Influence
Before becoming Chief of Staff, Wiles had a long history with Trump, including serving as his Florida campaign manager in 2016 and heading his fundraising organization, Save America. She credited her upbringing with an alcoholic father for helping her navigate Trump’s personality and high-pressure political environments.
Wiles is widely regarded as one of the most powerful figures in the second Trump administration, with significant influence over policy and personnel decisions at the White House.
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