From criticizing Attorney General Pam Bondi as “whining” on the Jeffrey Epstein case to saying that no reasonable person could believe that Elon Musk had a good job dismantling the United States Agency for International Development, Wiles revealed his own thoughts about his boss and the work of his aggressive administration. The assessments are more informed because Wiles, in the past, has maintained a low profile.

Wiles dismissed the Vanity Fair work as a “hit piece,” and several Cabinet officials and other aides rushed to his defense. But Wiles especially did not deny any details or quotes.

Here are some takeaways from Wiles’ interview:

Wiles defended Trump while comparing him to an alcoholic

Wiles describes Trump as a serious man who thinks in broad strokes but is often oblivious to the details of process and policy.

He assessed Trump as having “the personality of an alcoholic,” even though the president doesn’t drink. But the personality trait is something he recognized from his father, the famous sports broadcaster Pat Summerall.

“High-functioning alcoholics or alcoholics in general, their personalities are exaggerated when they’re drinking. And so I’m a bit of an expert on big personalities,” he said.

Wiles said: “I’m not an enabler. … I try to be thoughtful about what I’m involved in. I think time will tell if I’m effective.”

Trump’s revenge crusade is taking longer than Wiles would like

Wiles attests to Trump’s ruthlessness and determination to achieve revenge against what he considers his political enemies, especially those sued him.

“We had a loose agreement that the score would be settled before the end of the first 90 days,” Wiles said early in Trump’s second administration, telling Vanity Fair that he tried to play down Trump’s penchant for retaliation.

But in August 2025, he moved. “I don’t think he’s on a retribution tour,” he said, arguing that Trump has a different principle: “‘I don’t want what happened to me to happen to someone else.'”

Still, he said, “there may be an element of that from time to time” and Trump “will go for it … if there’s an opportunity.”

“Who can blame him?” he asked rhetorically. “I’m not.”

Asked about the prosecution of New York Attorney General Letitia James for mortgage fraud, Wiles allowed, “Well, that might be a punishment.”

On Epstein, Pam Bondi is on fire and Trump was ‘wrong’ about Bill Clinton

In some of his most shocking comments, Wiles said that Attorney General Pam Bondi “suffocated” in the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case, especially trying to manage public expectations by suggesting that the Department of Justice has a client list waiting to be disclosed only for the administration to say it later. does not exist.

Wiles also said Trump pushed false accounts that former President Bill Clinton regularly visited Epstein’s notorious island. There is “no evidence” the visits took place, according to Wiles, and there were no damaging findings about Clinton.

“The president was wrong about that,” Wiles said.

Wiles paid attention to Trump’s inner circle — and had thoughts

Wiles often sits on the sidelines of the Oval Office, out of sight of the camera. But he was paying attention.

Vice President JD Vance has been “a conspiracy theorist for a decade,” he said, and his MAGA conversion — he compared Trump to Adolf Hitler — is “a kind of politics.”

Elon Musk has exceeded his efforts in the Department of Government Efficiency, he said. He called him “a complete solo actor … a weird, weird duck” and a “pronounced ketamine user.” (Musk acknowledged the use of a dissociative anesthetic.) He recalled having to explain to her that “you can’t lock people in their offices” and saying destroy USAID leaving him “at first frightened.”

“Because I think anyone who pays attention to the government and pays attention to USAID believes, as I do, that they do a very good job,” he said, adding that “no reasonable person can think that the USAID process is a good one.

He called Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “quirky Bobby” and White House budget chief Russell Vought “a right-wing absolute zealot.”

But in praising Kennedy, Wiles explained his embrace of the administration’s supporters: “He pushed the envelope — some would say too far.

Wiles sees Trump’s tariffs ‘more painful’ than expected

Few events have damaged Trump’s standing as much as his announcement on April 2 “Liberty Day” tariffs, where he announced import taxes ranging from 10% to 99% in most of the world. Trump’s move sparked recession fears and a delay in imposing his broader tariff strategy, leading to a rollercoaster of negotiations and new tariff threats.

Wiles called the April rollout “a lot of thought-provoking” and said there were internal arguments about it among Trump aides. He said he told aides to “work on what he already has in mind” and asked Vance to tell Trump “not to talk about tariffs right now” until his team “is in full unity.”

Trump kept himself going.

Wiles said he believes a middle ground on tariffs will be successful. However, he concluded, “It was more painful than I expected.”

Wiles admits to wrongdoing on immigration

When a federal judge reprimanded the administration for deporting Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Trump publicly defended the procedure even as the administration told the court it was a mistake. Wiles didn’t mince words, telling Vanity Fair at the time, “We need to take a hard look at our process for deportation.”

When the administration deported two mothers and their US citizen children, including one who was a cancer patient, Wiles was more blunt: “It could be an overzealous Border Patrol agent, I don’t know.

Trump is more skeptical of Putin’s intentions than has been publicly indicated

After nearly four years of fighting, Trump made the case that Russian President Vladimir Putin could be persuaded to end the war in Ukraine if Kyiv agrees to cede Ukrainian land in the eastern Donbas region and if Western powers offer economic incentives that will bring Russia back into the world economic order.

“I think President Putin wants this to end,” Trump told reporters on Monday.

But Wiles offered deep skepticism to Vanity Fair about Putin.

“Experts think that if he gets the rest of Donetsk, he will be happy,” Wiles said in August, referring to the oblast that is a key part of Donbas.

“Donald Trump thinks he wants the whole country,” Wiles told his interviewer.

For Trump, the boat strikes are part of ousting Nicolás Maduro from power

Wiles said in November that Trump “wants to keep blowing up boats until Maduro cries uncle.”

Trump repeatedly says Maduro’s “days” as US steps up deadly attacks on Caribbean ships sea and eastern Pacific. The administration alleged that the targets were drug trafficking cartels.

However, Trump and administration officials have stopped short of saying they want to topple the Maduro regime. They insisted on strikes, which killed at least 95 people 25 known incidents since September, a strategy to stem the flow of fentanyl and other illegal drugs into the US

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Associated Press reporters Aamer Madhani and Josh Boak contributed from Washington.