Former White House deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews served during President Donald Trump’s first term. It was, as she recalls, an administration of internecine battles, where independent enclaves would wage war on one another for Trump’s favor or some other advantage.
That internal combativeness appeared to be toned down somewhat under Trump 2.0, she said. But the departure of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles on Friday indicated to Matthews that the old internal battles and treachery was back on the table.
Trump announced on Truth Social that he would be replacing Wiles Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, starting Monday, November 9, 2026.
“Susie Wiles, who has done an outstanding job, will be moving over to the Trump Political Operation. I want to thank her for her service as Chief of Staff — She has done a great job!" Trump wrote.
“I couldn't help but laugh to think that now this is playing out as if it's Trump 1.0 all over again, because when I was there, it was chaos,” Matthews told CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins Friday night. “I mean, it felt like there were maybe a handful of people I could trust. And even then, you still didn't really trust anyone because you felt like at any given moment, someone would knife you to try to make themselves look better.”
There were always “competing factions happening within the White House," Matthews added, and “it felt like we were competing.”
“The press team: me and Kayleigh McEnany against [senior presidential advisor] Jared Kushner and Ivanka, who were also competing against [Former White House Chief of Staff] Mark Meadows, who were also competing against the vice president's team,” said Matthews. “So, it always felt like this chaotic nature because we're all supposed to be on the same team. But then people are looking out for their own self-interest. And in Trump 2.0, they've prided themselves on this idea that there's been no leaking and that they're all this one unified front. And now we're kind of seeing the wheels come off.”
White House Bloomberg Correspondent Jeff Mason said he was personally surprised that Trump demoted a dedicated organizer like Wiles and replaced her with a fire-starter like Miller, who only appeals to a small minority of extremists.
“I thought it was interesting that he said very plainly he was ready for a change, given that he had given that strong, strong defense of Susie Wiles only a few weeks ago. Also, the fact that Wiles … is largely responsible for the fact that this second term has not been as chaotic of a White House as it was during his first term,” said Mason, adding that Wiles is also “essentially the architect of his campaign for reelection,” and the reason Trump’s campaign had the discipline to reclaim “power at all.”
“So, it's a pretty big break to be jettisoning this particular chief of staff, and then to be replacing her … with someone who absolutely appeals to some instincts … that I think many Republicans would be happy for him not to emphasize in these next two years, as they are also keeping an eye on 2028,” Mason concluded.