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Across more than 10 interviews, Wiles spoke frankly about working for Trump, saying the president “has an alcoholic’s personality,” despite being known as a teetotaler. She acknowledged the president’s appetite for revenge, conceding many of his second-term actions were driven by a desire for retribution. Wiles suggested Trump was pursuing regime change in Venezuela through his boat-bombing campaign, contradicting official justifications for the strikes. And she described several controversial areas where the president ignored her advice, including on deportations and pardons.

The comments, made in conversations over the past year with author Chris Whipple, are striking both in candor and topic. Wiles — who claimed Tuesday that her words were taken out of context in a “hit piece” — is known inside the White House as a careful operator with few internal detractors, unlike the men who held the job in Trump’s first term. She has retained Trump’s confidence in part by running a functional West Wing that doesn’t attempt to constrain the president’s impulses.

Trump regularly refers to his top aide as the “most powerful woman in the world,” with the ability to influence global affairs in a single phone call. While she is a near-constant presence during his meetings and public appearances, her public remarks during Trump’s second term have been limited to a handful of friendly interviews.


Her low profile made her comments to Whipple, whose book “The Gatekeepers” is considered a seminal work on the chief of staff role, all the more striking.

Wiles said Trump governs with “a view that there’s nothing he can’t do. Nothing, zero, nothing.”

“High-functioning alcoholics or alcoholics in general, their personalities are exaggerated when they drink,” she said. “And so I’m a little bit of an expert in big personalities.” The article notes she grew up with an alcoholic father — the legendary sportscaster Pat Summerall.

Trump shrugged off the assessment in an interview with the New York Post, saying he agreed he had a “possessive and addictive type personality.” He tamped down speculation Wiles’ job may be in trouble. “I didn’t read it, but I don’t read Vanity Fair — but she’s done a fantastic job,” Trump said.


In the interviews, Wiles notably admitted there “may be an element of” retribution in the prosecutions against Trump’s political opponents.

“I mean, people could think it does look vindictive,” she said in response to a question about the failed prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey. “I can’t tell you why you shouldn’t think that.”

“I don’t think he wakes up thinking about retribution. But when there’s an opportunity, he will go for it,” she added.
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