In explosive Vanity Fair article, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles says a driven Trump has an 'alcoholic's personality'

TOI correspondent from Washington: President Trump has “an alcoholic’s personality.” Vice-President JD Vance is an opportunist who became a Trump supporter not out of conviction but political convenience. Trump’s name is in the Epstein files and he was on Epstein’s plane, but there is no evidence that Bill Clinton ever visited Epstein’s private island. Elon Musk as “an avowed ketamine user.” She tried to persuade the President not to impose tariffs or seek retribution, but he just wouldn’t listen because he “operates with a belief that there is nothing he can’t do.”

These are just some of the candid insights offered by President Trump’s Chief of Staff Susie Wiles in an explosive Vanity Fair article – based on several interviews with her -- that broke across Washington DC like a thunderclap on Tuesday morning. The journalist Chris Whipple, who authored the price, revealed that it was based on 11 on-the- record interviews spread across nearly a year, leaving Wiles little wiggle room to deny the contents other than to say it “is a disingenuously framed hit piece” and “significant context was disregarded.”




In the interview, Wiles portrays President Trump as a singularly driven leader, asserting that he has accomplished more in his first 11 months back in the White House than “most presidents in eight years,” while also revealing a complex and sometimes contentious dynamic within the West Wing. She described Trump’s personality in evocative terms, comparing his intensity and unrelenting focus to traits she associated with a “high-functioning alcoholic,” despite noting that he does not drink.

The interviews did not shy away from sharp characterizations of the Trump team, with Wiles labeling JD Vance as a “conspiracy theorist” with a long history of such thinking, and Elon Musk’s use of ketamine, a pain-killing anesthetic that is also used for some for its hallucinogenic properties. Wiles also reveals that she urged Trump not to pardon the most violent January 6 rioters, but he ignored her advice. He is also driven by a constant need for retribution. "He operates with a view that there’s nothing he can’t do. Nothing, zero, nothing." Wiles says.

Wiles was also sharply critical of Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, saying Bondi "completely whiffed" on understanding public interest. "First she gave them binders full of nothingness," Wiles said, adding there was no "client list" and "it sure as hell wasn’t on her desk." She contradicted Trump's claims tying Bill Clinton to Epstein's crimes, stating, "The president was wrong about that," and emphasized no evidence implicated Trump in wrongdoing.

The White House sprang to Wiles’ defence even as critics began sharpening knives in the hours after the article went public, counting down the days to her exit. “Susan 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... The entire Administration is grateful for her steady leadership and united fully behind her,” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said.

White House budget director Russ Voight called her an “exceptional chief of staff” who is always an “ally” in helping him deliver for the president. Wiles called Voight a “right-wing zealot” in the interview.