A look at Trump's inner circle and the increased resistance from some of his allies

NPR's A Martínez asks Chris Whipple, the Vanity Fair writer who spent time inside the Trump administration, why the president is experiencing increasing resistance to his plans.

A MARTÍNEZ, HOST: OK. Let's analyze some of President Trump's battles with someone who recently spent time inside his inner circle. Chris Whipple is an author and contributing writer to Vanity Fair. His profile of Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles, based on 11 interviews, made waves back in December. He quoted her as saying that President Trump, who does not drink, has a, quote, "alcoholic's personality." Chris, so what stands out to you with - among some of the things we just heard in our report about some of the battles that Trump is going on, between penalizing Canada with 50% tariffs to threatening to bomb Oman? CHRIS WHIPPLE: Well, I think there are plenty of caveats to be made here. People have been predicting resistance, rebellion against Trump for 10 years now. But I think we're seeing some significant resistance - you know, most dramatically in Mark Carney's refusal to be bullied on tariffs and, of course, Iran's complete unwillingness to end the war on the president's terms. I think this is what happens when you're dead in the water, as I think Trump is, drifting, as it were, toward the waterfall of the midterms. You know, by every indication, they are not - they will not go well. MARTÍNEZ: So I'm wondering, then, is the Trump-influence era either winding down or close to winding down? I think of a Kentucky congressional candidate in - GOP candidate, Ralph Alvarado. His website has removed pro-Trump messages. He had a picture of them together. He removed that. Things like America First fighter that he had on his website now says, independent leadership. So is the Trump name no longer something that candidates can bank on? WHIPPLE: Well, no. I think that's absolutely true. I think that the Trump brand and Trump's policies - I mean, just look at his plummeting approval rating - are really poison in these midterms. It - and as you know, the midterms are always a referendum on the sitting president. And look. As his power ebbs, I think Trump has fewer tools he can use to reward friends and punish enemies, and people are starting to see that. You know, he - he's dedicated to retribution against his opponents. But as we've seen with James Comey and Letitia James and the Olympian medalist who supposedly ripped up the tidal pool - you know, the - forgive me, the reflecting pool - the retribution is mostly bluster. Everybody knows he's headed toward that shellacking, as Barack Obama once called it, and that may look like a walk in the park. MARTÍNEZ: For any president, though, wouldn't this always just be a matter of time? There eventually comes a time where they're not going to be around in the White House anymore. So their influence naturally would wane, wouldn't it? WHIPPLE: Well, yeah, except in this case, it's really supercharged, turbocharged by Trump's refusal to face reality. You know, every West Wing is a bubble with like-minded acolytes who agree with each other, but Trump's is exponentially more so. I mean, Natalie Harp is just the most extreme example of this kind of cult-like devotion of his advisers. And the result is not only that no one will tell him hard truths. But also there's a kind of bending of reality - I mean, a wishful thinking - among his aides. One example - you know, Trump, I think, has no intention of getting anything done with Hakeem Jeffries after the midterms. And yet there's Jared Kushner meeting with him, thinking that somehow they might work together. It's delusional. And it reminds me of how Susie Wiles, in my conversations with her for Vanity Fair, told me that she had a deal with Trump that the retribution would end after 90 days. And of course, it was a fantasy. MARTÍNEZ: So I'm going to just push back a little bit on this and say, OK. So what if someone says the Supreme Court letting Trump continue construction of the ballroom or Todd Blanche being eventually, you know, voted in to be attorney general by Republicans who were pushing back at first - isn't that signs that Trump's influence actually still has a little bit of juice left in it? WHIPPLE: Oh, of course it does. Yeah. No, it would be a huge mistake to count Trump out at this point. He's still got a - the Republican Congress is in lockstep still, as - and - as you pointed out. But look. We're headed for really troubled waters here. It - this may just be a splintering of the facade and not a full-blown resistance to Trump, but he's headed for real trouble beyond the midterms. Hakeem Jeffries has said that no one in what he calls the Trump cartel gets a pass. Democratic control of the House will mean investigations and subpoenas. And what happens then? Does the Trump White House ignore them? MARTÍNEZ: OK. WHIPPLE: You know, I think we're headed for real trouble. It's a - it's going to be a wild ride for the next two years. MARTÍNEZ: Chris Whipple is a contributing writer for Vanity Fair. Chris, thanks a lot. WHIPPLE: Thanks so much. Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

A MARTÍNEZ, HOST: OK. Let's analyze some of President Trump's battles with someone who recently spent time inside his inner circle. Chris Whipple is an author and contributing writer to Vanity Fair. His profile of Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles, based on 11 interviews, made waves back in December. He quoted her as saying that President Trump, who does not drink, has a, quote, "alcoholic's personality." Chris, so what stands out to you with - among some of the things we just heard in our report about some of the battles that Trump is going on, between penalizing Canada with 50% tariffs to threatening to bomb Oman? CHRIS WHIPPLE: Well, I think there are plenty of caveats to be made here. People have been predicting resistance, rebellion against Trump for 10 years now. But I think we're seeing some significant resistance - you know, most dramatically in Mark Carney's refusal to be bullied on tariffs and, of course, Iran's complete unwillingness to end the war on the president's terms. I think this is what happens when you're dead in the water, as I think Trump is, drifting, as it were, toward the waterfall of the midterms. You know, by every indication, they are not - they will not go well. MARTÍNEZ: So I'm wondering, then, is the Trump-influence era either winding down or close to winding down? I think of a Kentucky congressional candidate in - GOP candidate, Ralph Alvarado. His website has removed pro-Trump messages. He had a picture of them together. He removed that. Things like America First fighter that he had on his website now says, independent leadership. So is the Trump name no longer something that candidates can bank on? WHIPPLE: Well, no. I think that's absolutely true. I think that the Trump brand and Trump's policies - I mean, just look at his plummeting approval rating - are really poison in these midterms. It - and as you know, the midterms are always a referendum on the sitting president. And look. As his power ebbs, I think Trump has fewer tools he can use to reward friends and punish enemies, and people are starting to see that. You know, he - he's dedicated to retribution against his opponents. But as we've seen with James Comey and Letitia James and the Olympian medalist who supposedly ripped up the tidal pool - you know, the - forgive me, the reflecting pool - the retribution is mostly bluster. Everybody knows he's headed toward that shellacking, as Barack Obama once called it, and that may look like a walk in the park. MARTÍNEZ: For any president, though, wouldn't this always just be a matter of time? There eventually comes a time where they're not going to be around in the White House anymore. So their influence naturally would wane, wouldn't it? WHIPPLE: Well, yeah, except in this case, it's really supercharged, turbocharged by Trump's refusal to face reality. You know, every West Wing is a bubble with like-minded acolytes who agree with each other, but Trump's is exponentially more so. I mean, Natalie Harp is just the most extreme example of this kind of cult-like devotion of his advisers. And the result is not only that no one will tell him hard truths. But also there's a kind of bending of reality - I mean, a wishful thinking - among his aides. One example - you know, Trump, I think, has no intention of getting anything done with Hakeem Jeffries after the midterms. And yet there's Jared Kushner meeting with him, thinking that somehow they might work together. It's delusional. And it reminds me of how Susie Wiles, in my conversations with her for Vanity Fair, told me that she had a deal with Trump that the retribution would end after 90 days. And of course, it was a fantasy. MARTÍNEZ: So I'm going to just push back a little bit on this and say, OK. So what if someone says the Supreme Court letting Trump continue construction of the ballroom or Todd Blanche being eventually, you know, voted in to be attorney general by Republicans who were pushing back at first - isn't that signs that Trump's influence actually still has a little bit of juice left in it? WHIPPLE: Oh, of course it does. Yeah. No, it would be a huge mistake to count Trump out at this point. He's still got a - the Republican Congress is in lockstep still, as - and - as you pointed out. But look. We're headed for really troubled waters here. It - this may just be a splintering of the facade and not a full-blown resistance to Trump, but he's headed for real trouble beyond the midterms. Hakeem Jeffries has said that no one in what he calls the Trump cartel gets a pass. Democratic control of the House will mean investigations and subpoenas. And what happens then? Does the Trump White House ignore them? MARTÍNEZ: OK. WHIPPLE: You know, I think we're headed for real trouble. It's a - it's going to be a wild ride for the next two years. MARTÍNEZ: Chris Whipple is a contributing writer for Vanity Fair. Chris, thanks a lot. WHIPPLE: Thanks so much. Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

OK. Let's analyze some of President Trump's battles with someone who recently spent time inside his inner circle. Chris Whipple is an author and contributing writer to Vanity Fair. His profile of Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles, based on 11 interviews, made waves back in December. He quoted her as saying that President Trump, who does not drink, has a, quote, "alcoholic's personality." Chris, so what stands out to you with - among some of the things we just heard in our report about some of the battles that Trump is going on, between penalizing Canada with 50% tariffs to threatening to bomb Oman? CHRIS WHIPPLE: Well, I think there are plenty of caveats to be made here. People have been predicting resistance, rebellion against Trump for 10 years now. But I think we're seeing some significant resistance - you know, most dramatically in Mark Carney's refusal to be bullied on tariffs and, of course, Iran's complete unwillingness to end the war on the president's terms. I think this is what happens when you're dead in the water, as I think Trump is, drifting, as it were, toward the waterfall of the midterms. You know, by every indication, they are not - they will not go well. MARTÍNEZ: So I'm wondering, then, is the Trump-influence era either winding down or close to winding down? I think of a Kentucky congressional candidate in - GOP candidate, Ralph Alvarado. His website has removed pro-Trump messages. He had a picture of them together. He removed that. Things like America First fighter that he had on his website now says, independent leadership. So is the Trump name no longer something that candidates can bank on? WHIPPLE: Well, no. I think that's absolutely true. I think that the Trump brand and Trump's policies - I mean, just look at his plummeting approval rating - are really poison in these midterms. It - and as you know, the midterms are always a referendum on the sitting president. And look. As his power ebbs, I think Trump has fewer tools he can use to reward friends and punish enemies, and people are starting to see that. You know, he - he's dedicated to retribution against his opponents. But as we've seen with James Comey and Letitia James and the Olympian medalist who supposedly ripped up the tidal pool - you know, the - forgive me, the reflecting pool - the retribution is mostly bluster. Everybody knows he's headed toward that shellacking, as Barack Obama once called it, and that may look like a walk in the park. MARTÍNEZ: For any president, though, wouldn't this always just be a matter of time? There eventually comes a time where they're not going to be around in the White House anymore. So their influence naturally would wane, wouldn't it? WHIPPLE: Well, yeah, except in this case, it's really supercharged, turbocharged by Trump's refusal to face reality. You know, every West Wing is a bubble with like-minded acolytes who agree with each other, but Trump's is exponentially more so. I mean, Natalie Harp is just the most extreme example of this kind of cult-like devotion of his advisers. And the result is not only that no one will tell him hard truths. But also there's a kind of bending of reality - I mean, a wishful thinking - among his aides. One example - you know, Trump, I think, has no intention of getting anything done with Hakeem Jeffries after the midterms. And yet there's Jared Kushner meeting with him, thinking that somehow they might work together. It's delusional. And it reminds me of how Susie Wiles, in my conversations with her for Vanity Fair, told me that she had a deal with Trump that the retribution would end after 90 days. And of course, it was a fantasy. MARTÍNEZ: So I'm going to just push back a little bit on this and say, OK. So what if someone says the Supreme Court letting Trump continue construction of the ballroom or Todd Blanche being eventually, you know, voted in to be attorney general by Republicans who were pushing back at first - isn't that signs that Trump's influence actually still has a little bit of juice left in it? WHIPPLE: Oh, of course it does. Yeah. No, it would be a huge mistake to count Trump out at this point. He's st