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Vanity Fair’s two-part profile of White House chief of staff Susie Wiles landed like a hand grenade in Washington this week, based on what the magazine’s reporter says were 11 on-the-record interviews spread over nearly a year. The access is unusual, and Chris Whipple framed the piece as a sweeping inside look at the first year of the administration — a chance, in other hands, to actually hold power to account rather than manufacture a scandal.
The article contained blunt, headline-grabbing lines: Wiles was quoted criticizing Attorney General Pam Bondi, labeling Vice President J.D. Vance a “conspiracy theorist,” and describing President Trump as possessing what the piece called “an alcoholic’s personality.” Vanity Fair also reported a claim that Wiles described Elon Musk as an “avowed ketamine user,” a detail that has only added fuel to the fire.
Wiles immediately denounced the profile as a “disingenuously framed hit piece,” saying important context was stripped away and parts of her interview were presented in a way that distorted the truth. Whipple, for his part, doubled down — insisting the interviews were taped and on the record and arguing that the administration had failed to contest any of the article’s factual assertions. That back-and-forth has the makings of a classic media-versus-White House showdown, but the public deserves straight answers, not sensationalist framing.
Conservative voices have rightly smelled bias: this was not responsible reporting so much as a narrative hunt designed to portray a strong administration as chaotic. Fox contributors and other right-leaning commentators pushed back hard, with some — including Hugh Hewitt on Fox — saying Whipple fumbled what could have been a genuine journalistic victory and instead handed the left another hit piece. The difference here is stark: a reporter with access can illuminate real failures, or choose to stitch together a narrative that pleases liberal outlets.
The real conservative takeaway should be twofold: first, Americans must demand reporting that seeks truth and context rather than clicks and caricature; second, talented public servants like Susie Wiles deserve fair treatment, not a feeding frenzy meant to weaken a White House that is doing the hard work of governing. If journalists want credibility, they should use extraordinary access to expose real corruption or incompetence — not to manufacture smears that rally the Left and alienate the country.
