'Alcoholic's personality': Trump backs chief of staff after explosive interview

Who is Susie Wiles?

- Agence France-Presse

Donald Trump said on Tuesday he stood by his chief of staff Susie Wiles after she said the US president had an “alcoholic’s personality” in an astonishing interview with Vanity Fair. Wiles also called Vice President JD Vance a “conspiracy theorist,” branded tech tycoon Elon Musk an “odd, odd duck”, and gave juicy opinions on other Trump administration figures in the lengthy piece.

Trump has previously described Wiles, the first female White House chief of staff, as the “ice maiden” and credited her for her role in driving forward his second presidency behind the scenes.

But the 68-year-old Wiles now finds herself firmly in the headlines after the Vanity Fair story, which the magazine said was based on a series of interviews with veteran political journalist Chris Whipple over the past year.