Washington was caught off guard this Tuesday following the release of Vanity Fair's two-part profile featuring candid interviews with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. Many have credited Wiles as the Ice Maiden who brought Donald Trump back to the Oval Office, but in the interview, she surprisingly said things that appear damaging to the administration.
Many took the new report, which included unguarded conversations with Wiles, as a hint of the turbulent reality behind closed doors, seemingly suggesting she wasn't aligned with the leadership she serves. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, however, stood by Wiles, saying her words were taken out of context and insisted that her boss was the 'best chief of staff.'
Karoline Leavitt Slams The Report As Disguised Propaganda
Leavitt led the charge in defending Wiles following the Vanity Fair report. Appearing on Fox News, Leavitt was asked by host John Roberts 'What went wrong?' given that the White House appeared to have cooperated with the profile.
Leavitt emphasised that the Chief of Staff remains the President's most trusted confidante despite Vanity Fair's report.
'This was unfortunately another attempt at fake news by a reporter who was acting disingenuously and really did take the chief's words out of context,' Leavitt said, referring to Chris Whipple, who interviewed Wiles.
Trump's speaker insisted that there was a 'bias omission' in the report because Whipple allegedly 'omitted all of the positive things that Susie and our team said about the president.'
Although Leavitt found the incident 'unfortunate,' she said it would not 'distract' them from 'making America great again.'
@couriernewsroom In the article, Trump's Chief said Trump has "an alcoholic's personality," confirmed his presence in the Epstein Files, and much more.
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Wiles Reclaims Narrative on Social Media
Wiles was among the first to react, denouncing the article on X (formerly Twitter) as a 'disingenuously framed hit piece on me and the finest President, White House staff, and Cabinet in history.'
Wiles argued that author Chris Whipple disregarded significant context from their 11 recorded interviews. According to her, the reporter curated the material to paint an 'overwhelmingly chaotic and negative narrative' rather than reflecting the administration's actual effectiveness.
'Significant context was disregarded and much of what I, and others, said about the team and the President was left out of the story,' Wiles wrote.
Wiles said Trump's administration 'accomplished more in eleven months than any other President has accomplished in eight years.' She called Trump's leadership 'unmatched' and said she was honoured to be working with him.
Despite her forceful rebuttal, Wiles did not deny the direct quotations attributed to her in the report, leaving many to wonder if it would damage her relationship with Trump's allies.
The article published early this morning is a disingenuously framed hit piece on me and the finest President, White House staff, and Cabinet in history.
— Susie Wiles (@SusieWiles) December 16, 2025
Significant context was disregarded and much of what I, and others, said about the team and the President was left out of the…
Wiles's Unprecedented Criticisms
The Vanity Fair report report includes several startling details involving significant personnel in Trump's administration. Wiles reportedly described the president as having an 'alcoholic's personality' who operates like 'there's nothing he can't do.'
She also seemed to hint at personal friction with the vice president, describing Vance as a 'conspiracy theorist for a decade.' Wiles did not stop there and called Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk an 'avowed ketamine' user lurking in Washington, DC like Nosferatu.
This level of candour is unprecedented for a sitting Chief of Staff. The administration's defensive reaction, while not surprising, highlights the internal fissures the report has exposed.
