Trump stands by Susie Wiles as knives come out at White House before midterms
WASHINGTON — President Trump sought to put to rest two days of speculation that he might replace White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, saying Friday there is “zero chance” of her firing and that Wiles is “going to be here for a long time.”Wiles, who was declared cancer-free last month after working through medical treatments, is regularly introduced by Trump as the world’s most powerful woman and the person most responsible for returning him to the White House, but she nonetheless found her fate the talk of Washington this week.Politico’s influential Playbook newsletter reported on Thursday that Trump was asking allies for their thoughts on who might be a suitable replacement for Wiles — unleashing a swirl of rumors and campaigning as the chief of staff appeared to be on the ropes.Trump called the report “fake news” on Friday, adding, “I could not be more happy with Susie.”A close outside adviser to Trump told The Post that “I can tell when he is being genuine, and he really meant that.”Wiles is widely credited with bringing stability and cohesion to the West Wing staff after the four years of Trump’s first term were consumed by ceaseless personnel drama and speculation about the next aide to be fired.In a sign that Wiles’ power might be waning, Trump made an on-the-spot job offer last Friday to Katie Zacharia to be press secretary.
Wiles was aware that Trump was courting Zacharia, but she was not part of the interview and had not pushed for her candidacy.Zacharia was out of a job this Friday after fewer than five days of work following an unsteady 14-minute press briefing on Tuesday and a series of unflattering appearances on Fox News — giving an implicit boost to Wiles due to the fact she bore no responsibility for the hasty hiring.Wiles and other senior Trump allies have been the subject of intrigue as insiders expect that Trump will want to blame someone if Republicans perform poorly in the Nov.3 midterm elections.The presid...