White House Chief of Staff leaks insider scoop involving Trump, Musk, and tariffs

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles grants an exclusive interview to Vanity Fair, making shocking assessments of President Trump and his core circle. She describes Trump as having a “drunkard-like personality,” despite never drinking; billionaire Elon Musk is called a “weird person who openly admits to using ketamine.” Wiles reveals that internal disagreements over tariffs within the White House were enormous, leading to the policy’s withdrawal after the market turmoil in April.

White House Insider: Why Did Wiles Suddenly Turn Against?

Susie Wiles is a seasoned political advisor from Florida, who served as Trump’s campaign manager last year. She is credited with bringing efficiency to Trump’s operation during the campaign and inside the White House. However, in her Vanity Fair interview, she sharply criticized several key White House figures, triggering a political earthquake.

Wiles disclosed a startling detail: she is the daughter of an alcoholic father, which allows her to recognize that Trump has a “drunkard-like personality.” She said Trump “approaches everything with the mindset: there’s nothing he can’t do. No, zero, nothing.” While attempting to maintain a somewhat positive interpretation, the term “drunkard-like personality” itself is highly damaging. For a White House chief of staff to publicly evaluate President Trump in this manner is extremely rare in American political history.

Even more shocking is Wiles’ harsher judgment of Vice President Pence. She describes Pence as “a conspiracy theorist for ten years,” and mocks his transformation from a critic of Trump to an important “cheerleader” as “a calculated strategic move.” Wiles said, “His transformation happened when he ran for Senate. I think his change was more like… a political choice.” This accusation directly questions Pence’s integrity as a political successor to the MAGA movement.

Regarding Musk, Wiles’ revelations are even more explosive. She said, “The challenge in dealing with Elon is keeping up with his pace. He openly admits to using ketamine.” She also revealed that Musk “sleeps in a sleeping bag inside the executive office building during the day.” Wiles describes Musk as a “weird person,” adding, “Geniuses are often like that.” These details paint a picture of a billionaire behaving bizarrely inside the White House, potentially affecting decision-making ability.

Full Disclosure of Power Struggles Inside the Trump Administration

Wiles’ revelations expose the deepest power struggles within the White House. She admits that when Musk began “hollowing out” USAID, she was “initially shocked.” She said, “I think anyone who cares about the government and has paid attention to USAID would believe—like I do—that they did a very good job.” This indicates that Musk’s radical reforms within the White House were even unacceptable to Trump’s chief of staff.

More severe division stems from trade policy. Wiles revealed that within Trump’s team, there was a major split over the large tariffs imposed on most U.S. trade partners in April. The hardline faction overwhelmed those urging caution. Wiles said, “There are huge disagreements about whether tariffs are a good idea. It’s more painful than I expected.” Ultimately, the policy had to be withdrawn after market turmoil, becoming one of Trump’s biggest policy failures in his second term.

Three Major Factions in the White House Core Circle Clash Intensely

Trump Family Faction: Controls key decision-making but has serious disagreements with professional staff

Musk Tech Faction: Pushes radical reforms, “hollowing out” USAID, shocking the White House

Traditional Republican Faction: Represented by Pence, trying to balance the MAGA movement and mainstream GOP

Hardline Tariff Advocates vs Cautionary Faction: Generate “very huge” disagreements over tariffs, causing policy chaos

Wiles’ Staff System: Aims to bring order to the White House but constantly conflicts with Trump’s “drunkard-like personality”

Pence’s Counterattack and Political Calculations

In response to Wiles’ accusations, Pence responded during a speech in Pennsylvania. He said he hadn’t read the article but “heard about it.” Pence stated, “I ‘sometimes’ am a conspiracy theorist,” then added: “But I only believe those that are truly conspiracy theories. For example, back in 2020, I believed in crazy conspiracy theories—like it was foolish to have three-year-olds wear masks during the worst of COVID… And that the media and government are covering up a fact—that Joe Biden is obviously unfit for the job.”

This defensive strategy demonstrates Pence’s political savvy: he didn’t deny being a “conspiracy theorist” but redefined what constitutes a conspiracy theory, turning it into an attack on mainstream media and the Democratic Party. Notably, Pence then strongly defended Wiles, calling her “loyal” and saying she is “the best White House chief of staff Trump could ask for.” This public support shows that, despite Wiles’ criticism, Pence chose to uphold White House unity rather than retaliate.

Wiles herself seems aware that her remarks could have political consequences. On Tuesday evening, she retracted part of her statements on social media platform X, calling her Vanity Fair interview “an untruthful smear article that attacks me and the greatest president, White House team, and cabinet in history.” She wrote, “None of this can stop us from persistently pushing forward to Make America Great Again!”

This post-hoc correction suggests that Wiles’ disclosures may not have been intentionally damaging to Trump’s government but rather a slip of the tongue during the interview. However, once these remarks are made public, they cannot be taken back. The internal power struggles within the White House, Trump’s personality flaws, Musk’s bizarre behavior, Pence’s political shift, and the chaos over tariffs have all become focal points of public discussion. For Trump, facing declining poll support and unrest among the MAGA base, this White House insider exposé is undoubtedly a blow to his presidency.