The bombshell interview with President Donald Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles, sent shockwaves through MAGA world, CNN's Dana Bash reported on Tuesday.
At the top of her show, Bash said her phone was blowing up with comments about the 11 interviews a Vanity Fair reporter did with Wiles.
"It is in every group chat," Bash said. "Everyone is shocked and confused. That's how one Trump ally is describing the impact of the jaw-dropping Vanity Fair piece out this morning with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles as an unfiltered quote machine. Now, Wiles is an incredibly powerful and very well-respected force inside Trump world, and she is known to avoid the public spotlight."
Yet, in a post on X, Wiles claimed her months-long interviews were a "hit piece." At one point, she denied ever saying anything about Elon Musk's drug use. The New York Times called the Vanity Fair reporter to confirm, and was given a recording of Wiles' words, the report said.
"There are, sort of, earthquakes in politics," Bash said. "And then there are moments like this, and it is because Susie Wiles, as I said, is so restrained, so strategic, so well-respected. And what this is, is Susie Wiles unfiltered on politics, on personality, and on real-time policy decisions."
Journalist and political analyst David Chalian noted Wiles is also "loyal" to Trump, making it all the more unusual she would do such an interview.
"And I think this is why our phones exploded this morning, not just as you reported at the top of the show, Dana, about inside Trump world, but across this entire city. This electrified everyone because it was so unexpected," Chalian said.