Susie Wiles, President Donald Trump’s influential yet low-profile chief of staff, has found herself at the center of a political storm after a Vanity Fair profile published Tuesday, December 16, 2025, revealed her candid views about Trump, members of his administration, and the handling of several controversies, including the Jeffrey Epstein case.
The article, which featured extensive interviews with Wiles, described her as offering a rare, unfiltered glimpse into the inner workings of Trump’s West Wing. In it, Wiles reportedly criticized Attorney General Pam Bondi’s management of the Epstein scandal and offered pointed observations about key administration figures, calling Trump “an alcoholic’s personality,” Vice President JD Vance “a conspiracy theorist,” and Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. “quirky Bobby.”
Following the publication, Wiles denounced the piece as a “disingenuously framed hit piece on me and the finest President, White House staff, and Cabinet in history,” claiming her comments were stripped of context. However, she did not deny any of the quotes attributed to her.
“Significant context was disregarded and much of what I, and others, said about the team and the President was left out of the story,” she posted on social media. “I assume, after reading it, that this was done to paint an overwhelmingly chaotic and negative narrative about the President and our team.”
Despite the controversy, senior administration officials rallied around her. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt praised Wiles as Trump’s “most loyal advisor,” while Budget Chief Russell Vought wrote online that “the West Wing has never functioned better or been more focused on Trump’s goals.”
Criticism of Bondi’s Handling of the Epstein Case
Wiles’ most striking remarks centered on Attorney General Pam Bondi and the renewed public interest in the Jeffrey Epstein files. She accused Bondi of mishandling the release of information and misjudging public expectations.
“I think she completely whiffed on appreciating that that was the very targeted group that cared about this,” Wiles said. “First she gave them binders full of nothingness. And then she said that the witness list, or the client list, was on her desk. There is no client list, and it sure as hell wasn’t on her desk.”
Wiles said she had reviewed the Epstein documents herself and that Trump “is not in the file doing anything awful.” She acknowledged having initially underestimated the scandal’s scale but defended Trump’s stance on transparency, noting that the Justice Department faces a Friday deadline to release all Epstein-related materials.
An Inside View of Trump’s Personality and Priorities
In describing Trump, Wiles painted a portrait of a leader whose intensity mirrors the traits of “high-functioning alcoholics,” though she emphasized that Trump does not drink.
“High-functioning alcoholics, or alcoholics in general, have exaggerated personalities when they drink,” she said. “I’m a little bit of an expert in big personalities — and Trump has a view that there’s nothing he can’t do. Nothing. Zero. Nothing.”
She also spoke candidly about Trump’s hardline foreign policy, confirming reports that he intends to maintain military pressure on Venezuela.
“He wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle,” she remarked, adding, “People way smarter than me say that he will.”
Her comments appeared to conflict with the administration’s official position that the strikes are solely aimed at combating drug trafficking, not regime change.
On Retribution and Power
Wiles acknowledged that part of her role involves managing Trump’s impulses, particularly his drive to seek retribution against political rivals and officials linked to his previous legal battles.
“We have a loose agreement that the score-settling will end before the first 90 days are over,” she told Vanity Fair.
Later, she clarified her view:
“I don’t think he’s on a retribution tour. He just doesn’t want what happened to him to happen to somebody else. People who’ve done bad things need to get out of the government. In some cases, it may look like retribution, and there may be an element of that from time to time. Who would blame him? Not me.”
Asked about Trump’s push to prosecute New York Attorney General Letitia James for mortgage fraud, Wiles added pointedly:
“Well, that might be the one retribution.”
