In a series of over ten candid interviews, Wiles offered a revealing glimpse into her experiences working with former President Trump. She characterized Trump as possessing “an alcoholic’s personality,” a striking observation given his well-known stance as a non-drinker.

Wiles openly discussed Trump’s penchant for revenge, admitting that much of his agenda for a potential second term was fueled by a desire for retribution. This insight sheds light on the motivations behind some of his policy decisions.

She also provided a controversial perspective on Trump’s foreign policy, suggesting that his military actions in Venezuela were aimed at regime change, diverging from the official justifications for those strikes. Additionally, Wiles recounted several instances where Trump disregarded her advice on sensitive issues like deportations and pardons.

These revelations, shared with author Chris Whipple over the past year, are remarkable for their honesty and the topics they address.

Despite her forthrightness, Wiles claimed on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST) that her statements were misrepresented in what she described as a “hit piece.” Within the White House, Wiles is recognized as a strategic and cautious figure, notably lacking the internal criticisms faced by her predecessors during 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.

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

Writing after the interviews published in Vanity Fair, Wiles said her words were taken out of context.

“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,” Wiles wrote on X.

“Significant context was disregarded and much of what I, and others, said about the team and the President was left out of the story. I assume, after reading it, that this was done to paint an overwhelmingly chaotic and negative narrative about the President and our team.”

In a separate statement, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump “has no greater or more loyal advisor than Susie”.

“The entire Administration is grateful for her steady leadership and united fully behind her,” Leavitt wrote.

Wiles, in her interviews with Whipple, described several times when her advice went unheeded.

Wiles also acknowledged that Trump did not have evidence to support his accusation that former president Bill Clinton visited the private island of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“There is no evidence,” Wiles said of Clinton’s alleged visits. When Vanity Fair asked whether there was anything incriminating about Clinton in the Epstein files, she reportedly added, “the president was wrong about that.”

Wiles offered unflattering assessments of several of the president’s closest allies in the interviews. Of Vice President JD Vance, she said he had “been a conspiracy theorist for a decade,” and suggested his evolution from Trump critic to loyal ally was “sort of political.”

Vance acknowledged during a speech in Pennsylvania later Tuesday that he “sometimes” is a conspiracy theorist, but that he believes only “in the conspiracy theories that are true.” He defended Wiles, despite what he said were occasional disagreements.

“We agree on much more than we disagree,” he said. “But I’ve never seen her be disloyal to the president of the United States, and that makes her the best White House chief of staff that I think the president could ask for.”

On tech billionaire and former Trump ally Elon Musk, Wiles said he is “an avowed ketamine” user and “an odd, odd duck, as I think geniuses are.”

His action to dismantle the US Agency for International Development, however, left her “aghast.”

Turning to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Wiles said she “completely whiffed” in her handling of the Epstein files.

“First, she gave them binders full of nothingness. And then she said that the witness list, or the client list, was on her desk. There is no client list, and it sure as hell wasn’t on her desk.” (Bondi defended Wiles in an X post later Tuesday, calling her “my dear friend” and writing of the administration: “We are family. We are united.”)

In another striking comment, Wiles described Russell Vought, a co-author of conservative blueprint Project 2025 and head of the Office of Management and Budget, as “a right-wing absolute zealot.” (Vought later wrote on X that Wiles is his “ally” and an “exceptional” chief of staff.)

Wiles also expressed policy reservations throughout the interviews. On deportations, she said the administration needed to “look harder” to avoid mistakes.

She acknowledged that Trump would need congressional authorisation to carry out strikes in Venezuela that he had been saying would come “soon”.

Wiles said she urged Trump not to pardon the most violent rioters from January 6, 2021, advice he ultimately ignored, and said she unsuccessfully pushed him to delay announcing major tariffs amid what she described as a “huge disagreement” among his advisers.

After the interviews published Tuesday morning, White House aides, advisers and allies of Trump were reeling at some of the brutally honest assessments.

“It’s in every group chat,” one Trump ally told CNN, adding, “Everyone is shocked and confused.

“Yikes,” a senior White House adviser said of the interview.

The interview prompted intense speculation in Trump circles, with one central question: Why would Wiles do this? Was she seeking revenge on someone? Was she on her way out? Was there some miscommunication with the journalist about which of her remarks were on the record and when they could be published?

Everyone agreed on this much: Wiles is one of the most calculated and strategic people in politics — and an interview like this would have to mean something.

One adviser noted that Wiles, in her X post, did not deny making the comments. Another said that every quote sounded like her voice.