A bombshell profile in Vanity Fair magazine has plunged the Trump White House into a defensive crisis, after chief of staff Susie Wiles offered startlingly candid assessments of the president, his vice president, and key allies. The lengthy feature, based on over a year of interviews, has triggered a frantic damage-control operation from the West Wing.
The Explosive Allegations and the 'Ice Maiden'
In her conversations with journalist Chris Whipple, the 68-year-old Wiles, dubbed the 'Ice Maiden', made a series of incendiary remarks. Most notably, she likened President Donald Trump to her late alcoholic father and legendary sportscaster Pat Summerall, stating the president has 'an alcoholic's personality'. She elaborated that Trump operates with 'a view that there's nothing he can't do. Nothing, zero, nothing'. The president, who does not drink and has spoken about his brother's death from alcoholism, later defended the comment, saying he understood her meaning.
Wiles also turned her focus to Vice President JD Vance, highlighting his late conversion to the MAGA cause and his early critiques of Trump. She bluntly stated the VP has been 'a conspiracy theorist for a decade'. Other figures were not spared: Elon Musk was described as 'a complete solo actor' and an 'odd, odd duck', with Wiles speculating his late-night social media rants might be due to micro-dosing. She had no proof but referenced his admitted ketamine use.
Further targets included Office of Management and Budget chief Russell Vought, labelled 'a right-wing absolute zealot', and Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was mocked for handing out 'nothingburger Epstein folders' to conservative influencers.
Photoshoot Tensions and Vance's Barbed Defence
The controversy extended to a glossy Vanity Fair photoshoot featuring senior staff. As photographer Christopher Anderson worked, an unnamed official joked lightheartedly, 'We're all going to get fired for this.' Vice President Vance immediately retorted, 'Except for me. I have 100 percent job security.'
Vance continued in a jocular, cutting vein, even offering money to the photographer. 'I'll give you $100 for every person you make look really s***ty compared to me. And $1,000 if it's Marco,' he said, targeting Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The shoot included Wiles, Vance, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Deputy Chiefs of Staff James Blair and Dan Scavino, and Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller.
In the fallout, Vance offered a long-winded defence in Pennsylvania. On being called a conspiracy theorist, he claimed, 'Sometimes I am a conspiracy theorist, but I only believe in the conspiracy theories that are true.' He cited theories about President Biden's health and pandemic masking policies as examples. He then turned serious, praising Wiles as 'the best White House chief of staff' Trump could ask for and insisting the profile misrepresented her.
White House Counter-Attack and Mounting Pressure
The administration mounted a coordinated counter-offensive. President Trump told The New York Post he understood Wiles's comments about alcoholism, relating them to his own 'addictive type personality'. He dismissed the Vanity Fair piece, saying, 'the facts were wrong, and it was a very misguided interviewer, purposely misguided.'
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted the article on the White House driveway, calling it 'another example of disingenuous reporting' with a 'bias of omission'. She accused Whipple of pushing a 'false narrative of chaos and confusion'.
Wiles herself took to X to issue a damage-control statement, labelling the article a 'disingenuously framed hit piece' where 'significant context was disregarded'. Despite the defences, the political damage appears tangible. According to prediction market Kalshi, the odds of Wiles being the first to leave the Trump Cabinet skyrocketed from 4% to 18% following the report's publication. She is now the third most likely departure, behind Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (20%) and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem (28%).
Journalist Chris Whipple hit back at the White House's 'out of context' claims in a CNN interview, stating unequivocally, 'Everything is on tape... Everything in the article was on the record.' He called the administration's response 'the ultimate non-denial denial', challenging them to contest a single fact in the piece.
