'Release the tapes!' CNN analyst calls White House's bluff after Susie Wiles debacle
A CNN analyst called the White House's bluff after President Donald Trump's Chief of Staff Susie Wiles's explosive Vanity Fair interview dropped Tuesday in an article Wiles complained was a "hit piece."
Kate Bedingfield, former Biden White House communications director, suggested that Wiles could have made a strategic move, and the White House could simply release the recordings if there were any questions about the context.
"What's so interesting to me is that Susie Wiles has this really sterling reputation as somebody who has Trump's confidence and who runs the White House with an iron fist," Bedingfield said. "And in many ways, it felt to me like this interview was sort of an emperor has no clothes moment, where, moment after moment, significant Trump decision after significant Trump decision. She says in the interview, 'You know, I was overruled.' Or, 'You know, I don't really know,' or 'people that are smarter than me are going to make this decision.'"
Bedingfield suggested that Wiles could be considering her political future.
"It was very interesting to me to watch somebody who has a public reputation, you know, as such a stalwart of the White House, sort of try to distance herself from some of the key decisions," she added. "So I actually wondered if there was a strategic effort there to distance herself. And if we're going to see perhaps a Susie Wiles departure. I mean, these are the kinds of interviews that you do when you're trying to establish your kind of capstone legacy."
Trump indicated Tuesday that he stands by Wiles and admitted that he has "an alcoholic's personality."
Wiles conducted 11 interviews with the writer, Christopher Whipple, over the course of a year — not just one conversation, Bedingfield added.
"You know, you kind of hear her saying it was taken out of context, although I would say if they feel there was context omitted, they should release the tapes. Let's hear, let's hear, let's hear the footage of the whole thing," Bedingfield said.