Susie Wiles Slams Bondi, Says Trump Has ‘Alcoholic’s Personality’ in Interview/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ White House chief of staff Susie Wiles criticized Attorney General Pam Bondi’s mishandling of the Jeffrey Epstein case in a revealing Vanity Fair interview. Wiles defended President Trump’s leadership and acknowledged internal disputes over retribution, policy, and transparency. The interview sheds light on behind-the-scenes dynamics shaping Trump’s second administration.
Susie Wiles, Trump & Epstein Fallout – Quick Look:
- Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, spoke candidly to Vanity Fair.
- Criticized Pam Bondi for mishandling the Epstein file release.
- Trump’s retribution agenda continues beyond the 90-day “agreement.”
- Wiles says Trump wants to keep bombing Venezuelan drug boats until Maduro “cries uncle.”
- Described Trump as having “an alcoholic’s personality” — intense, unwavering confidence.
- Defended Trump’s record, calling his administration the most accomplished ever.
- Addressed the Epstein documents and insisted Trump did “nothing awful.”
- White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt strongly backed Wiles post-publication.
- DOJ faces deadline to release Epstein files under new Trump-signed law.
- Wiles’ remarks contradict some official administration narratives on policy goals.
Susie Wiles, White House Chief of Staff, Criticizes Pam Bondi and Defends Trump in Vanity Fair Interview
Deep Look
White House chief of staff Susie Wiles sharply criticized Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and offered candid assessments of President Donald Trump’s second administration in an extensive Vanity Fair interview published Tuesday.
Wiles, a longtime Trump ally and the first woman to serve as Trump’s chief of staff, said she misjudged the political impact of the Epstein scandal but repeatedly faulted Bondi for failing to seize control of the narrative.
After the article was released, Wiles pushed back, labeling the coverage “a disingenuously framed hit piece on me and the finest President, White House staff, and Cabinet in history.” She said key context was omitted and that the reporting painted an unfairly negative picture of Trump and his team.
Wiles did not deny the comments attributed to her in the piece, but argued that Trump has accomplished more in his first 11 months of a second term than any president did in eight years, credited to what she described as his “unmatched leadership and vision.”
“None of this will stop our relentless pursuit of Making America Great Again!” she wrote in a social media post.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also defended Wiles in a post on X, calling her Trump’s “most loyal advisor” and saying the administration stands fully behind her.
Comments on Trump’s Venezuela Policy and Epstein File
In her conversations with the magazine, Wiles said Trump wants to continue striking alleged drug-smuggling boats off the coast of Venezuela until that country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, “cries uncle.” Her remarks suggested broader strategic aims than the official administration explanation, which frames the strikes as efforts to stop drug trafficking and protect American lives.
Wiles acknowledged she and Trump had a “loose agreement” that the president’s focus on what she described as retribution against political foes would conclude within the first 90 days of his second term — a point she says has since passed.
Wiles’s interview included her comments on the Epstein case, which has drawn intense public scrutiny. She said she initially underestimated the political weight of the scandal and that she hadn’t paid close attention to whether wealthy people visited Epstein’s private island.
She affirmed that Trump’s name does not appear “doing anything awful” in the Epstein materials and noted that Trump and Epstein were once friends before their relationship ended.
The Justice Department is under a court-ordered deadline this Friday to release all Epstein-related files after Trump signed legislation requiring their disclosure over administration objections.
Criticism of Bondi’s Handling
Wiles targeted Bondi’s handling of the Epstein files earlier this year, particularly a moment in which Bondi distributed binders of documents to social media influencers that contained no new information. Wiles said that misstep compounded public frustration and made it harder to manage expectations among Trump supporters.
“I think she completely whiffed on appreciating that that was the very targeted group that cared about this,” Wiles said. She also disputed Bondi’s claim that a witness list or client list was on her desk, saying “there is no client list.”
Portrayal of Trump Inside the White House
Throughout the interview, Wiles depicted Trump as consistent with his public persona: forceful, big-picture oriented, and not inclined toward process detail. While she described him as determined and relentlessly focused on his goals, she pushed back against characterizations of him as overly temperamental.
She told Vanity Fair that Trump has “an alcoholic’s personality,”
A comment referring not to alcohol use — Trump does not drink — but to personality traits she observed and linked to her own familiarity with high-intensity personalities through her father.
Wiles said Trump believes “there’s nothing he can’t do. Nothing, zero, nothing.”
Wiles says Vance has been a ‘conspiracy theorist for a decade’
Susie Wiles said that Vice President Vance has been a “conspiracy theorist” for a decade.
“The people that really appreciated what a big deal this is are Kash [Patel] and [FBI Deputy Director] Dan Bongino,” Wiles told author Chris Whipple.
“Because they lived in that world. And the vice president, who’s been a conspiracy theorist for a decade,” she continued. “For years, Kash has been saying, ‘Got to release the files, got to release the files.’ And he’s been saying that with a view of what he thought was in these files that turns out not to be right.”
Retribution and Policy Priorities
Wiles said much of her role is managing Trump’s drive for retribution against those he views as having wronged him — including political opponents, individuals he blames for his 2020 loss, and prosecutors who pursued legal cases against him after his first term.
She said the president’s motivations have evolved, framing actions against some officials as efforts to prevent what happened to him from happening to others.
“In some cases, it may look like retribution,” she said, “and there may be an element of that from time to time. Who would blame him? Not me.”
Wiles specifically referenced the prosecution of New York Attorney General Letitia James on mortgage fraud charges, calling it “well, that might be the one retribution.”
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