Top Trump aide reveals internal rifts

‘Vanity Fair’ article irks administration

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White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, centre, at the Kennedy Centre in Washington, DC, on Nov 10. REUTERS

(REUTERS)

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles revealed internal tensions in the Trump administration over issues from immigration enforcement to government downsizing in comments published by Vanity Fair on Tuesday that paint an unflattering picture of the role played by some of President Donald Trump's close aides.

In a series of 11 interviews with author Chris Whipple conducted over Mr Trump's first year back in office, Ms Wiles, the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff, described the teetotaling president as having “an alcoholic’s personality” and an eye for vengeance against perceived enemies.

“He has an alcoholic’s personality,” Ms Wiles said of Mr Trump, explaining that her upbringing with an alcoholic father prepared her for managing “big personalities” Mr Trump does not drink, she noted, but operates with “a view that there's nothing he can’t do. Nothing, zero, nothing”