Trump’s chief of staff says he has ‘alcoholic’s personality,’ and other shocking takeaways from rare interview

Susie Wiles’ remarks have raised serious questions about the president’s judgment, temperament, and politicization of justice,” Erica P. Loewe, former Biden White House Office of Public Engagement chief of staff, told theGrio.

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was shockingly candid during a wide-ranging interview with Vanity Fair, sharing that she believes President Donald Trump has an “alcoholic’s personality,” despite not drinking, and characterized Vice President JD Vance as a “conspiracy theorist.”

Wiles, the first woman to serve in her powerful role as chief of staff, shared with Vanity Fair’s Chris Whipple that, given her experience with an alcohol-addicted father, she sees similarities between those like him and Trump, 79.

“Some clinical psychologist that knows one million times more than I do will dispute what I’m going to say. But high-functioning alcoholics or alcoholics in general, their personalities are exaggerated when they drink. And so I’m a little bit of an expert in big personalities,” said Wiles, who added that her boss has “an alcoholic’s personality.” She added that he “operates [with] a view that there’s nothing he can’t do. Nothing, zero, nothing.”

Wiles also admitted what many of President Trump’s critics have long claimed about his administration’s attempts to federally prosecute his perceived political enemies, most notably New York Attorney General Letitia James, whom a grand jury twice declined to indict despite persistent efforts by the Department of Justice at Trump’s direction.

When asked about whether Trump was seeking “retribution” against his so-called enemies, Wiles said, “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.”

Letitia James has been repeatedly accused of committing mortgage fraud by Trump and administration officials, despite the evidence presented not proving that claim. Wiles shockingly admits in the Vanity Fair interview that, in the case of James, who prosecuted Trump in a civil business fraud case totaling nearly $500,000 in damages that was ultimately tossed out after Trump’s election win last year: “Well, that might be the one retribution.”

“This is not new information, but it is still shocking to hear it come from the White House chief of staff. Susie Wiles’ remarks have raised serious questions about the president’s judgment, temperament, and politicization of justice,” Erica P. Loewe, former Biden White House Office of Public Engagement chief of staff, told theGrio.

“Whether congressional Republicans will act on this or whether Wiles herself becomes another casualty of this administration remains to be seen.”

Anthony Coley, a former Department of Justice official during the Biden administration, told theGrio, “Trump 1.0 had guardrails—advisers who checked his worst instincts. In Trump 2.0, those guardrails are gone, replaced by aides like Susie Wiles, whose loyalty to Trump eclipses the facts and the law.”

The political analyst continued, “She has used her front-row seat to power not to improve people’s lives, but to enable the most vindictive, politically driven—and frequently dishonest—commander in chief in modern American history.”

Other shocking takeaways from Vanity Fair’s profile of Susie Wiles include the White House chief of staff describing Vice President Vance as someone “who’s been a conspiracy theorist for a decade.”

Acknowledging Vance’s previous denunciation of Trump in 2016, only to become a staunch supporter when he ran for U.S. Senate in 2022, Wiles said, “I think his conversion was a little bit more, sort of political.”

Susie Wiles also had quite the commentary about Tesla billionaire Elon Musk, who briefly served as a special advisor for Trump and infamously led the now-defunct Department of Government Efficiency.

Musk, who has long been reported to be a drug user, is an “avowed ketamine [user],” said Wiles. “The challenge with Elon is keeping up with him…he’s an odd, odd duck, as I think geniuses are. You know, it’s not helpful, but he is his own person.”

After the publication of the Vanity Fair article, Wiles blasted the article as a “disingenuously framed hit piece.”

“Significant context was disregarded and much of what I, and others, said about the team and the President was left out of the story. I assume, after reading it, that this was done to paint an overwhelmingly chaotic and negative narrative about the President and our team,” she wrote on X. “None of this will stop our relentless pursuit of Making America Great Again!”