Inside Susie Wiles’ Grip on Power in Trump’s Second White House
What’s emerging from this Vanity Fair account is a rare, inside look at how power actually works in Donald Trump’s second term—and at the woman many believe is quietly holding the center together. Susie Wiles, now White House chief of staff, is described as the most powerful person in the building after the president himself, and unlike most people who’ve held that job before her, she doesn’t seem interested in theatrics or credit. Instead, authority is exercised through discipline, distance, and an unusual kind of confidence.
One telling moment captures her style perfectly. During a high-stakes Oval Office meeting with Trump, JD Vance, Marco Rubio, and Stephen Miller, Wiles suddenly stood up and walked out. When Trump challenged her—asking if it was really an emergency—she calmly replied that it was, and that it didn’t involve him. It wasn’t true, but the message was clear. Control wasn’t asserted loudly. It was simply assumed.
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Over the past year, Wiles has spoken openly and repeatedly with journalist Chris Whipple about everything from mass deportations and January 6 pardons to Elon Musk’s influence, Trump’s temperament, and the constant crises of governing by impulse. Unlike most senior officials, who hide behind anonymity, Wiles answered questions on the record, often on Sunday afternoons after church. She comes across as plainspoken, sharp-edged when necessary, and unafraid to judge the people around her.
Trump, she says, has “an alcoholic’s personality”—a belief shaped by her own childhood with her father, legendary NFL broadcaster Pat Summerall, who struggled with addiction. That upbringing, Wiles suggests, trained her to handle oversized egos and volatile behavior. Big personalities don’t intimidate her. They’re familiar territory.
Her relationship with Trump wasn’t always smooth. In 2016, he humiliated her publicly over a Florida poll, pushing her to the brink. Instead of exploding or folding, she delivered a line that still defines her approach: if he wanted chaos, she wasn’t his person—but if he wanted to win, she was. She walked out, and he called her every day after that. Florida was won, and the partnership was sealed.
Now, Wiles sees her role not as restraining Trump, but facilitating him. JD Vance describes her as someone who believes voters chose Trump as he is, and that her job is to make his vision real—not to manipulate or soften it. Critics wonder whether that makes her an enabler. Wiles rejects the label entirely, insisting she’s neither submissive nor reckless. She’s simply effective.
Surrounded by aggressive younger aides she jokingly calls “junkyard dogs,” Wiles stays mostly out of sight, seated just off camera during Oval Office events, absorbing the blows while others bark. Power, in her White House, doesn’t need to shout. It just needs to endure.
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