Trump’s Appetite For Revenge, Power Plays, In ‘Vanity Fair’ Profile On Susie Wiles
WASHINGTON, DC – White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles on December 16 sharply rejected a Vanity Fair profile that detailed internal debates and crises in President Donald Trump’s second term, calling it a “disingenuously framed hit piece” that ignored context and selectively omitted remarks to portray the administration as chaotic.
The Vanity Fair article by Chris Whipple, titled ‘Susie Wiles, JD Vance, and the ‘Junkyard Dogs’: The White House Chief of Staff on Trump’s Second Term,’ is a two-part profile drawn from months of interviews with Wiles.
Wiles spoke frankly about working for Trump, saying the president “has an alcoholic’s personality,” despite being known as a teetotaler. She acknowledged the president’s appetite for revenge, conceding many of his second-term actions were driven by a desire for retribution.
The Vanity Fair article situates Wiles at the center of decisions that, it says, have expanded presidential power, including the deployment of National Guard troops, immigration enforcement, and foreign policy actions. It also raises questions about whether she restrains the president or fully embraces his approach. “The question around Wiles’s tenure under Trump has been whether she will do anything to restrain him,” the article states.
The profile includes on-the-record remarks by senior officials. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is quoted praising Wiles’s relationship with Trump as “an earned trust,” while Vance describes her role as a facilitator of the president’s agenda. CNN notes: “She has retained Trump’s confidence in part by running a functional West Wing that doesn’t attempt to constrain the president’s impulses.”
The article recounts episodes ranging from debates over tariffs and immigration enforcement to the restructuring of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the impact on the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. In the article, Wiles is quoted as acknowledging disagreement with some actions while emphasizing execution. “I will concede that we’ve got to look harder at our process for deportation,” she said at one point.
On tariffs, the article quotes Wiles describing internal divisions: “There was a huge disagreement over whether [tariffs were] a good idea.” She added that advisers were told to align with Trump’s direction, “This is where we’re going to end up. So, figure out how you can work into what he’s already thinking.”
The profile also details Wiles’s management style and her proximity to power. “There’s the president, and then there’s whoever the three high-ranking people are on the sofa,” she said of Oval Office events. “And then there’s a chair at the corner of the sofa, which is my chair.” (IANS)
