On Monday, Vanity Fair published an interview with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. It included a number of quotes that are embarrassing to the Trump administration. Wiles was appalled, complaining that Vanity Fair had left out “important context.”
Did Wiles just fall off a turnip truck? Vanity Fair is one of the most viciously left-wing publications in America. Any fool could have told her that their only object is to damage the administration for which she works. And yet, Wiles sat for a series of 11 interviews, apparently beginning shortly after Trump’s inauguration. Maybe she expected the magazine would publish a special issue, with a 125-page verbatim transcript of her interviews.
Donald Trump and, especially, Donald Jr. have stood by Wiles. Also, the Vanity Fair piece includes photos not only of Wiles, but of other administration figures, for which they seem to have posed. And Wiles couldn’t possibly have done 11 interviews without her boss knowing about it.
All of which suggests that the folly extended well beyond Ms. Wiles. How anyone in the administration could think that sitting for 11 interviews with Vanity Fair could lead to anything good is beyond comprehension.
The midterm elections were destined to be tough, given the hysteria into which the Democratic base has whipped itself. But if the midterms turn into a rout, as seems entirely possible, it will be because the administration’s inept public relations efforts constantly help the Democrats to distract the public from the administration’s signal achievements.
