Trump and allies defend Susie Wiles over blunt quotes about top officials in Vanity Fair story

Washington — President Trump and members of his Cabinet defended White House chief of staff Susie Wiles on Tuesday after Vanity Fair published a lengthy piece featuring her blunt assessment of the president's inner circle, his first year in office and the president himself. 

The two-part story, written by author Chris Whipple, features quotes from 11 interviews that Whipple conducted with Wiles from Jan. 11 to Nov. 5.

According to Vanity Fair, Wiles said the president, who doesn't drink, has "an alcoholic's personality."

"High-functioning alcoholics or alcoholics in general, their personalities are exaggerated when they drink," Wiles said, according to Vanity Fair. "And so I'm a little bit of an expert in big personalities." Wiles was quoted as saying the president operates with the view that there's "nothing he can't do. Nothing, zero, nothing."

The president told the New York Post he hadn't read the Vanity Fair piece, but said Wiles is "fantastic." Mr. Trump also defended Wiles' description of him. 

"No, she meant that I'm — you see, I don't drink alcohol," the president told the Post. "So everybody knows that — but I've often said that if I did, I'd have a very good chance of being an alcoholic. I have said that many times about myself, I do. It's a very possessive personality."

He continued: "I've said that many times about myself. I'm fortunate I'm not a drinker. If I did, I could very well, because I've said that — what's the word? Not possessive — possessive and addictive type personality. Oh, I've said it many times, many times before."

Wiles was also quoted as saying Vice President JD Vance has "been a conspiracy theorist for a decade," and that Attorney General Pam Bondi "completely whiffed" on her handling of the Epstein files. She also criticized Elon Musk and the way the U.S. Agency for International Development was shuttered in the early months of the administration. 

"No rational person could think the USAID process was a good one," she said in the story. "Nobody."

In a post on X, her first in more than a year, Wiles, 68, called the story a "disingenuously framed hit piece on me and the finest President, White House staff, and Cabinet in history."

"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 wrote. "I assume, after reading it, that this was done to paint an overwhelmingly chaotic and negative narrative about the President and our team."

Wiles' statement did not deny that she was accurately quoted. CBS News has asked Vanity Fair for any additional comment and whether the publication will be releasing a transcript or audio of the interviews.

Wiles, a longtime political operative in Florida, became the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff when Mr. Trump took office in January. She was named to Forbes' 2025 list of the World's Most Powerful Women earlier this month. 

Top administration officials came to Wiles' defense after the Vanity Fair story was published, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reposting many of their comments. 

Office of Management and Budget director Russ Vought, whom Wiles called a "right-wing absolute zealot" in the story, called Wiles "an exceptional chief of staff." 

"In my portfolio, she is always an ally in helping me deliver for the president," Vought wrote on X. "And this hit piece will not slow us down."

Despite Wiles' criticism of her handling of the Epstein files, Bondi wrote on X: "My dear friend Susie Wiles fights every day to advance President Trump's agenda – and she does so with grace, loyalty, and historic effectiveness. Any attempt to divide this administration will fail. Any attempt to undermine and downplay President Trump's monumental achievements will fail. We are family. We are united."

"This is what the Left does: trash & smear our best & most effective people," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote. "They do it to President Trump daily — and now to Chief Susie Wiles. Susie is the most TRUSTED, most PROFESSIONAL & most EFFECTIVE Chief of Staff of my lifetime. Absolutely nobody better!"

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote that the "radical left is at it again, trying to create discord on President Trump's team," adding that "It won't work because we know & love Susie Wiles."

The vice president was asked about the "conspiracy theorist" comment by reporters during a trip to Pennsylvania. Vance said he hadn't read the article yet but had heard about it.

"Sometimes I am a conspiracy theorist, but I only believe in the conspiracy theories that are true," Vance said.

"And by the way, Susie and I have joked in private and in public about that for a long time," Vance continued. "For example, I believed in the crazy conspiracy theory back in 2020 that it was stupid to mask three-year-olds at the height of the COVID pandemic, that we should actually let them develop some language skills. I believed in this crazy conspiracy theory that the media and the government were covering up the fact that Joe Biden was clearly unable to do the job."

He added: "If any of us have learned a lesson from that Vanity Fair article, I hope that the lesson is we should be giving fewer interviews to mainstream media outlets."