Donald Trump and senior White House officials have defended his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, who sparked controversy after giving a series of explosive interviews to the American magazine Vanity Fair. In the report released this Tuesday (12/16), Wiles claims that although Trump does not consume alcohol, he “has the personality of an alcoholic.”
Asked by reporters about the interview, Trump said he had not read the report. “I don’t read Vanity Fair, but she (Susie) did a fantastic job,” the president said Tuesday afternoon.
A few hours later, Trump gave an interview to the New York Post newspaper and returned to the subject. “She (Susie) didn’t mean that. You see, I don’t drink alcohol, everyone knows that. But I said many times that if I did, I would have a good chance of becoming an alcoholic. I said that many times about myself. It’s a possessive personality,” he said.
Trump has repeatedly stated that he does not consume alcoholic beverages, because of his older brother, who died in 1981 at the age of 42 of a heart attack caused by heavy drinking.
Read also
-
World
Venezuela condemns the blockade announced by Trump: “grotesque threat”
-
World
Trump orders air and naval blockade of Venezuela until Maduro ‘departures’
-
World
Trump extends US travel ban for foreigners
-
Brazil
Rate: 43% think that Lula played an important role in Trump’s withdrawal
In January of this year, Susie Wiles became the first woman to be named White House chief of staff. The report published by Vanity Fair, based on 10 interviews conducted in 2025, included several controversial comments.
“He has the personality of an alcoholic,” Wiles said of Trump. “High-functioning alcoholics, or alcoholics in general, exaggerate their personalities when they drink. So I’m sort of an expert on strong personalities,” he added.
The chief of staff grew up with an alcoholic father, sports commentator Pat Summerall, which she says helped her identify this type of behavior.
According to Wiles, the Republican governs with the conviction that “there is nothing he cannot do.” Nothing, nothing, nothing.” She said that assessment helps explain Trump’s centralizing style and his willingness to move forward on sensitive issues, even in the face of internal resistance.
3 pictures
Close the modal.
1 of 3
Donald Trump and Susie Wiles
Puce Somodevilla/Getty Images2 of 3
Susie Wiles
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images3 of 3
Donald Trump and Susie Wiles
Puce Somodevilla/Getty Images
The interview has repercussions for the top brass of the Trump administration
After the interview was published, Susie Wiles used her X account (formerly Twitter) to call the Vanity Fair report “defamatory and biased against me and the best president, best staff, and best White House cabinet in history.” According to the chief of staff, the context was omitted from the interview.
In the interview, Susie Wiles also spoke about US Vice President JD Vance, whom she called a “decade-long conspiracy theorist” and said his approach towards Trump was “partly political”.
With the fallout, the vice president was asked about the interview during a conversation with reporters in Pennsylvania. Vance defended Susie Wiles and highlighted her “authenticity.” “I have never seen her disloyal to the president of the United States, and that makes her the best White House chief of staff the president could ask for,” he said.
The same Vanity Fair report states that Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured that he would support JD Vance’s candidacy for president of the United States in 2028. On social media, Rubio said that “it is evident that Vanity Fair deliberately manipulated photos and published statements out of context in an attempt to damage the image of the White House team.”
Additionally, the secretary also defended Susie Wiles. “There is no one more loyal or committed to President Trump’s mission than Susie Wiles. She is one of the main reasons we have a team working together to deliver on the President’s promises to the American people,” he said.
Epstein, Trump and allies
Wiles also admitted that Trump had no evidence to support the claim that former President Bill Clinton visited convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s island. “There is no proof,” he said. According to her, when asked about the file, Trump “was wrong”.
Regarding billionaire Elon Musk, a former ally of the president, he said he was an admitted user of ketamine and “an eccentric guy, as geniuses tend to be.”
She was also harsh in speaking out about Attorney General Pam Bondi, saying she had “utterly failed” in handling the Epstein cases. According to the chief of staff, Bondi created expectations by distributing folders to conservative influencers, which would be empty. “There’s no client list, and it certainly wasn’t on his desk,” he said.
About The Author
