"Trump has the personality of an alcoholic"…Veiled close aide's first interview 'repercussions'

Susie Wiles White House Chief of Staff

Interview published in 'Vanity Fair'

An interview article published on the 16th (local time) revealed that Susie Wiles, who was regarded as one of Donald Trump, the President of the United States's closest aides and had been extremely averse to media exposure, harshly criticized not only President Trump but also senior officials of the Trump administration, causing a stir. President Trump had previously publicly expressed full trust in Chief of Staff Wiles.

The U.S. popular culture monthly Vanity Fair reported that it had steadily interviewed Chief of Staff Wiles from just before President Trump's second-term inauguration this year and submitted the article in two parts.

According to the report, Wiles said in the interview that President Trump "has the personality of an alcoholic" and "he acts with the perspective that there is nothing he cannot do." Wiles, who had a father who lived with alcohol addiction, said, "The personalities of severe alcoholics or typical alcoholics are exaggerated when they drink," and added, "So I am somewhat of an expert on people with strong personalities."

In particular, regarding President Trump calling April 2 "America Liberation Day" and announcing reciprocal tariffs, Wiles explained, "There was immense disagreement over whether tariffs are a good policy." She said, "We suggested to President Trump, 'Let's not talk about tariffs today. Wait until the team reaches complete agreement and then do it,'" and added that President Trump's eventual announcement of reciprocal tariffs "was more painful than expected."

Wiles said in the interview that Vice President JD Vance was "a conspiracy theorist for ten years," and criticized his turnaround from a critic of Trump as "for some kind of political reason." Wiles referred to Elon Musk, Tesla's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), who led the government efficiency department early in Trump's second term, as a ketamine addict, calling him "a strange person, as geniuses are."

After the interview was published, Wiles rebutted on her X (formerly Twitter), "The article published early this morning is a dishonestly fabricated malicious article aimed at me and the best president and White House staff, and the Cabinet." She added, "Important context was ignored and a significant portion of what I and others said about the team (the Trump administration) and the president was omitted," and "Having read the article, I assume this was intended to overwhelmingly portray a confusing and negative narrative about the president and our team."

Reporter Jonghyun Song scream@hankyung.com