"In the White House, there is a system for dealing with a president who rarely sleeps. The staff take it in shifts so they get a nap..."

"... even if he doesn’t. Donald Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles starts early and stays on until early to mid-evening. Then it’s over to her deputy Dan Scavino, a true Trump old-timer — they met when 16-year-old Scavino was selected to caddie for him — to do the graveyard shift.... [T]he shifts are about being around to help, aid and occasionally advise, rather than blocking. Still, journalists and lobbyists study Trump’s schedule for when best to try to get him alone. A former aide says the best times to call are first thing in the morning or late evening, but he’s such a night owl that some enterprising hacks have got through at 3am. In the morning, his team wakes and checks Truth Social for what Trump has posted — often a mix of AI memes, criticism of his enemies or his latest views on a war — and any likely fallout. His record is 160 posts in one night. Some come via his adviser Natalie Harp, nicknamed the 'Human Printer' for giving the president stacks of positive press cuttings, others from the man himself...."

Writes Katie Balls, in "Donald Trump at 80: is refusing to act his age his secret weapon?/The president is still known to work 12-hour days and post all night as he enters his ninth decade" (London Times).

I wondered if there are some kind of barracks or hotel-like areas in the White House. I think not. That means Susie and Dan are most likely curling up on a sofa in their office. How old is Susie Wiles? Isn't it dangerous to be this sleep deprived? But Trump sets the tone, and he seems to be all about conquering sleep, the thief of life.

Genuine Trump quote: "You know, I’m not a big sleeper. I like three hours, four hours. I toss, I turn, I beep-de-beep, I want to find out what’s going on."

"Trump picks his cabinet in part for their aesthetics, and their ability to perform well on TV and Noem was famed for never missing a photo op...."

"But her hunger for publicity also contributed to her demotion. Under Noem’s watch, $220 million of taxpayers’ money was spent on an advertising campaign for border security that prominently featured footage of her on horseback, dressed as a 'cowgirl,' in front of Mount Rushmore.... In recent months, she has drawn negative headlines for using border funds for a multi-million-dollar jet fleet. There are rumours she is romantically involved with Corey Lewandowski.... He joined midway through the 2024 presidential campaign and quickly butted heads with the official campaign chiefs, Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita. At an event when the scale of Trump’s victory was becoming clear, Lewandowski tried to congratulate LaCivita only to be told: 'F*** you, f*** you and f*** you. You have f***ed with the wrong person. I’m going to f***ing destroy you.'"

I'm reading "ICE, luxury jets, an ‘affair’ and a dead puppy: the downfall of Kristi Noem/The Republican known as ‘ICE Barbie’ has been beset by allegations and became the first major departure from Trump’s comparatively stable second-term cabinet" (London Times).

"Mr. Bongino’s obsession with his own image, as projected through a constant stream of gung-ho social media posts, landed flat in a proud law enforcement agency..."

"... where working hard and keeping a low profile has been a calling card of leadership. In a lawsuit filed in September, the former head of the bureau’s powerful Washington field office, Steven J. Jensen, said he was taken aback by the 'intense focus' that Mr. Bongino devoted to 'increasing online engagement through his social media profiles in an effort to change his followers’ perception of the F.B.I.'... Mr. Bongino... fell out of favor after lambasting Attorney General Pam Bondi over her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case — and alienating Ms. Bondi’s friend and ally, Susie Wiles.... Mr. Bongino’s departure represents a tempered victory for Ms. Bondi, who accused him in a contentious meeting over the summer of planting negative stories about her in the right-wing news media, after the Justice Department issued a memo stating that the Epstein files warranted no further investigation. Mr. Bongino, apparently upset by the exchange, did not show up for work the next day...."

From "Dan Bongino Says He Will Step Down From F.B.I. in January/The departure of Mr. Bongino had seemed inevitable since August, when the White House hired Missouri’s attorney general, Andrew Bailey, to share his job as deputy director" (NYT).

"No, she meant that I’m — you see, I don’t drink alcohol. So everybody knows that — but I’ve often said..."

"... that if I did, I’d have a very good chance of being an alcoholic. I have said that many times about myself, I do. It’s a very possessive personality. I’ve said that many times about myself. I’m fortunate I’m not a drinker. If I did, I could very well, because I’ve said that — what’s the word? Not possessive — possessive and addictive type personality. Oh, I’ve said it many times, many times before."

Said Trump, responding to the report in Vanity Fair that his Chief of Staff Susie Wiles had said he has an "alcoholic’s personality," quoted in "Trump brushes off Wiles' 'alcoholic’s personality' nick as allies torch Vanity Fair piece/Cabinet members and Trump himself have dismissed the unflattering quotes, claiming they were taken out of context" (Fox News).

I wonder why he said "possessive" — twice — before changing to "addictive." I think the word he was looking for was "obsessive." 

I like that he's supporting her, and it's probably in his interest to support her and provide explanation that makes her remark into something almost positive, rather than part of a dark and devastating bombshell that Vanity Fair must have thought it had put together.

What is the "alcoholic's personality" anyway? Is that just folk belief or is it supported by respectable research? Perhaps it doesn't matter as much as what Susie Wiles was attempting to describe seeing in Trump. She had an alcoholic father, and presumably something makes her see Trump as that father figure, and Trump initially included her in his inner circle because of her famous father. That's a very specific and personal story that stands apart from whatever this concept of "alcoholic's personality" is taken to mean by the general public that harbors folk beliefs and little familiarity with the scholarly literature.

"Over the course of 11 interviews, Ms. Wiles offered pungent assessments of the president and his team: Mr. Trump 'has an alcoholic’s personality.' Vice President JD Vance has 'been a conspiracy theorist...'"

"'... for a decade' and his conversion from Trump critic to ally was based not on principle but was 'sort of political' because he was running for Senate. Elon Musk is 'an avowed ketamine' user and 'an odd, odd duck,' whose actions were not always 'rational' and left her 'aghast.' Russell T. Vought, the budget director, is 'a right-wing absolute zealot.' And Attorney General Pam Bondi 'completely whiffed' in handling the Epstein files."

From "Trump’s Top Aide Acknowledges ‘Score Settling’ Behind Prosecutions/In interviews with Vanity Fair, Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, said Trump 'has an alcoholic’s personality,' called JD Vance a 'conspiracy theorist' and concluded that Pam Bondi 'completely whiffed' the early handling of the Epstein files" (NYT)(gift link)..

Here's the Vanity Fair article: "Susie Wiles, JD Vance, and the 'Junkyard Dogs': The White House Chief of Staff On Trump’s Second Term (Part 1 of 2)Throughout the first year of Donald Trump’s second administration, Vanity Fair writer Chris Whipple has interviewed Wiles amid each moment of crisis. This insider’s account joins a portfolio of portraits for an unflinching, up-close look at power—and peril."

Here's Wiles's response, on X. It's quite generic:

"His decision to choose someone in his inner circle is a sharp contrast to his choice after first winning the presidency in 2016."

"Then, he selected someone with whom he had little history for the chief of staff role: Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee at the time. Most members of Mr. Trump’s extended orbit wanted to see Ms. Wiles as chief. She has close relationships with Vice President-elect JD Vance and with Mr. Trump’s family, including his two older sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric...."

From "Trump Names Susie Wiles as His White House Chief of Staff/The president-elect turned to his top political aide to fill a key post managing the White House when he returns to office" (NYT).

"Ms. Wiles, the daughter of the football legend Pat Summerall... kept [Trump's] world functioning as he was charged criminally four times in four courthouses, and steered him through primary victories, the aftermath of a criminal conviction, two assassination attempts and a change in his opponent just after the Republican National Convention. Ms. Wiles championed the former president’s effort to expand his coalition in the general election beyond the party’s older white base to appeal to Black and Latino voters who typically had not supported Republicans.... ...Mr. Trump’s previous picks for chiefs of staff... were chosen either because they were recommended by top Republicans in Washington, in Mr. Priebus’s case, or because they seemed likely to bring order to chaos, in Mr. Kelly’s case.... [On Election Night, Trump] tried, twice, to get Ms. Wiles to come to the microphone to speak. She declined. Mr. Trump praised her as an 'ice queen'...."