Nobody should be surprised that President Donald Trump gave the go-ahead for White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles to be interviewed for Vanity Fair magazine, David Brody, chief political analyst for Christian Broadcasting Network, told MS NOW on Tuesday.
The interview unleashed a host of shocking reactions, with Wiles telling Vanity Fair that Trump has an "alcoholic's personality" and Vice President JD Vance has been a "conspiracy theorist" for a decade. She also described former DOGE advisor Elon Musk as “microdosing” ketamine while working for the White House.
More interestingly, Wiles admitted that "there may be an element of" retribution in Trump's efforts to pursue criminal cases against political adversaries or perceived foes.
"I don't think he wakes up thinking about retribution," Wiles told Vanity Fair. "But when there's an opportunity, he will go for it."
The Hill reports that Trump world is defending the interview, which potentially undermines the prosecution of former FBI head James Comey and state AG Letitia James, both of whom made themselves targets for retributive prosecution from Trump’s AG Pam Bondi.
Wiles herself has struck back at the Vanity Fair article, calling it “a disingenuously framed hit piece.” However, Brody said Trump knew what he wanted when he approved the interview.
“The point is that Vanity Fair is not a conservative publication by any stretch, obviously. And so you wonder, well, why in the world did they do it? And here's the dirty little secret, quite frankly: All four of us know that … this White House, or any White House, craves legitimacy from the mainstream media. They just do. And I know he talks about ‘fake news’ all the time, but the truth of the matter is they want that good above-the-fold headline.”
“You can just see it right there in the Vanity Fair article,” Brody added. “I mean, my goodness, they were posing [on the cover] like it was … some sort of ABC … drama at 8 P.M. eastern or something, there on the desk. I mean, they had the whole look and everything. The point is, they wanted this. And now the White House is saying, well, actually we were misquoted or this or that.”
“I can tell you this, MAGA folks … are just saying, ‘you got to be kidding me.’ I mean, just why are you even going there is the big question,” Brody said.