Camilla Jessen
Wiles calls Trump “alcoholic personality,” labels Vance “conspiracy theorist”
The White House has been thrown into turmoil after chief of staff Susie Wiles was quoted making sharply critical remarks about President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Elon Musk in a new Vanity Fair interview.
Wiles has since attempted to walk back the comments, calling the article “biased and dishonest.”
Remarks on Trump
Wiles, a long-time Republican strategist and manager of Trump’s 2024 campaign, reportedly described the president as having an “alcoholic personality,” despite Trump not drinking.
She told the magazine she recognised traits similar to those of her father, saying Trump “acts with the belief that there is nothing he can’t do.”
The comments come as Trump faces weak polling on the economy and frustration among supporters who say key 2024 promises remain unfulfilled.
Criticism of JD Vance
Wiles was quoted offering harsher words for Vice President JD Vance, calling him “a conspiracy theorist for a decade.”
She linked the remark to pressure from Vance to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein.
She also questioned his political evolution, suggesting his alignment with Trump coincided with his 2022 Senate run.
“I think his change was a little more… political,” she reportedly said.
Describing Musk as “very weird”
Wiles commented on Elon Musk’s role early in Trump’s second term, when the billionaire was tasked with identifying government cuts.
She described him as “an avowed ketamine user” who slept in a sleeping bag in the Executive Office Building.
“The challenge with Elon is to keep up with him,” she said, adding: “He’s a weird guy, very weird, like I think geniuses are.”
Wiles said she was initially “horrified” when Musk pushed to dismantle USAID, which she believed “was doing a very good job.”
She also noted divisions inside the administration over sweeping tariffs introduced in April, calling the internal battles “more painful than I expected.”
Wiles pushes back
After publication, Wiles accused Vanity Fair of misrepresenting her remarks.
In a statement posted on X, she called the piece “a biased and dishonest article about me and the best president, the White House staff, and the Cabinet.”
She said the report aimed to portray the administration in a “chaotic and negative” light, adding: “None of this will stop us in our relentless efforts to make America great again!”
Sources: Vanity Fair; Financial Times; Susie Wiles (via X).
