The magazine Vanity Fair This Tuesday he published an extensive profile of Susie Wilesthe chief of staff of Donald Trumpone of the most important positions in any American administration and with little media impact.
In this profile, built over a year of interviews with her and other members of the White House, Wiles gives a very interesting view from within what will soon be the first year of Trump’s second term.
Without ever failing to remain completely faithful to his boss, Wiles lets slip certain things that he probably would not have liked to see published. In fact, Wiles herself came out on Tuesday to criticize the profile and ensure that her statements had been taken out of context.
Perhaps the most controversial claims have to do with the bombing of ships near the Venezuelan and Colombian coasts, one of which was hit twice with the sole purpose of killing all the crew. The case is under investigation by Congress.
“He wants to continue flying ships until Maduro surrenders,” said Wiles, in what is the first time that since the Trump Administration it has been recognized that the fight is not so much against drug trafficking, but against the Chavista regime that has led Venezuela for 26 years.
Asked if these attacks seem legal to her, Wiles hesitates: it is true that alleged criminals are being killed without trial and for a crime that in no case would carry the capital punishment in the United States… but if the War Department considers that it is the most appropriate, that is their right.
Another thing would be to attack Venezuela by land. There, Wiles does consider that there would have to be a formal declaration of war and that it would require the approval of Congress, something that he takes for granted thanks to pressure from Marco Rubio y J.D. Vance.
In fact, Trump announced this Tuesday a formal statement televised to the entire country for Wednesday afternoon. There is no shortage of those who believe that there they can announce their decision about Venezuela and the Maduro regime, be it an escalation in attacks or a diplomatic agreement that ends with the Chavista out of the Government and, presumably, out of the country.
Susie Wiles and Donald Trump at the Palm Beach County Convention Center on election night.
Reuters
The complex relationship between Trump and Putin
At the international level, in addition to the situation in Venezuela, Wiles provided information on the peace process in Gaza and the current situation in Ukraine. Regarding Israel, he acknowledged that many of the MAGA faithful view the close relationship between both governments with suspicion.
They would like to see more discussion of internal issues, especially economic ones, and less focus on geopolitical problems. In fact, Trump was elected for his promise to ignore the rest of the world and look only at American interests.
Regarding Ukraine, Wiles acknowledges that, seeing Trump and Vladimir Putin together at the 2018 Helsinki summit, in which the American president said he believed the Russian when he told him that he had not intervened in the elections despite the contrary conclusions of the FBI, he thought that there was a true relationship of friendship or admiration between the two.
“However, the conversations we have had with Putin have been very varied. Some have been friendly… and others have not.”
He also refers to an internal disagreement about the possible solution to end the war. According to the chief of staff, Trump believes that Putin wants to keep all of Ukraine… but they do not stop trying to convince him from within – it is understood that Steve Witkoff— that Donetsk would be enough to complete the conquest of Donbas.
That is not the impression it gives from the outside, but it would be nice if Trump were really aware that Putin has no intention of signing any agreement other than absolute surrender on the part of Ukraine. And, by the way, consequently, to stop putting pressure on Zelensky.
The Epstein case and Musk’s DOGE disaster
The internal political issue that is most discussed in the report is, without a doubt, the so-called Epstein case or, rather, the opacity initially shown by the Administration in this regard.
Wiles acknowledges that the importance of the issue for a certain sector of the population that voted for Trump was not well measured, in part, because of his promise that he would publish all the information.
“First, he gave them some files that had nothing in them… and then he said he had the client list on his desk,” he said, referring to the attorney general, Pam Bondi. “There is no such list of clients and, of course, he couldn’t have it on his desk.”
Wiles admits Trump’s presence in these files, but assures that no criminal activity is recorded. “You know, they were young, single, the whole thing… I know it’s an old-fashioned expression, but they were like two playboys singles who got together”.
He also stated that, although Bill Clinton In the files, no crime is attributed to him and, of course, there is no evidence that he traveled dozens of times to Epstein’s island, as Trump claims.
Although the general tone of Wiles’ responses is quite restrained, there are two notable exceptions that will undoubtedly fill the headlines. When asked about Elon Muskrefers to him as a “stimulant-fueled Nosferatu.”
Wiles is especially critical of her decision to dispense with USAID, both because of the importance of the poverty aid program around the world, and because of the terrible image she gave of the Administration.
He also has some strange words towards Vance. Although he recognizes that he is Trump’s heir and that, if he ran, everyone would put themselves at his service, he seems to criticize his political drift, which has taken him from critic of the billionaire to his greatest admirer.
“I know that Marco Rubio has taken that path from honesty, he would never betray himself… in the case of Vance, I think it has been something more political,” says Wiles, who completely rules out that Trump is going to try to run for a third time: “It is something that he himself knows is impossible… that is why he has such a good time bringing up the subject.”