President Trump and his Cabinet members on Tuesday defended White House chief of staff Susie Wiles after Vanity Fair published what she described as a “disingenuously framed hit piece.”
Wiles sat for 11 interviews with the outlet to describe her role as the first female chief of staff and the intricacies of Trump’s first year back in office.
However, in the piece, writer Chris Whipple said she mentioned that former White House adviser Elon Musk was an “avowed ketamine [user],” Vice President JD Vance was a “conspiracy theorist for a decade,” and White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought was “a right-wing absolute zealot.”
Members of the Trump administration on Tuesday pushed back against the remarks published.
“My dear friend @SusieWiles fights every day to advance President Trump’s agenda – and she does so with grace, loyalty, and historic effectiveness,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote in a statement on the social platform X.
“Any attempt to divide this administration will fail. Any attempt to undermine and downplay President Trump’s monumental achievements will fail,” she added.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also chimed in, stating that Trump “has no greater or more loyal advisor than Susie,” in a post on X.
“The entire Administration is grateful for her steady leadership and united fully behind her,” she continued.
Donald Trump Jr. shared a lengthier post describing Wiles’s history with the family and the president.
“When Susie took over my father’s political operation after J6, people forget how many ‘Republicans’ were treating him like a pariah. Countless operatives, consultants and elected Republicans thought my dad’s political career was over and wanted nothing to do with him. They attacked him ruthlessly and predicted that he would lose if he ran for office in 2024,” the president’s eldest child wrote.
“Not Susie. She was a loyal fighter for him from the moment she came on board. When things were tough and other supposed friends left my dad like a bunch of rats, Susie stood by his side and worked her ass off everyday to rebuild his political operation and ensure that his comeback in 2024 would be successful,” he added in the post.
During a Tuesday event in Pennsylvania, Vance said he and Wiles frequently joked about his conspiracy theories.
“I haven’t looked at the article. I, of course, have heard about it. But conspiracy theorist, sometimes I am a conspiracy theorist but I only believe in the conspiracy theories that are true,” he told the crowd.
Vought also defended the chief of staff from the outpour of concern after the Vanity Fair article was published.
“Susie Wiles is an exceptional chief of staff. I have had the privilege of working in President Trump’s White House for every single minute of his two terms. Let me be very clear: It has never worked this well or been more oriented towards accomplishing what he wants to accomplish,” he wrote in a post on X.
“In my portfolio, she is always an ally in helping me deliver for the president. And this hit piece will not slow us down,” he continued.
Trump on Tuesday said he still had confidence in Wiles.
“I didn’t read it, but I don’t read Vanity Fair — but she’s done a fantastic job,” Trump told the New York Post in his first comments since Wiles’s comments were published.
“I think from what I hear, the facts were wrong, and it was a very misguided interviewer, purposely misguided,” Trump added.
Asked if he had full confidence in Wiles, Trump told the Post that Wiles is “fantastic.”
