Vice President JD Vance didn’t miss a beat on Tuesday when asked about White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles labeling him a “conspiracy theorist” in a recent magazine profile. Instead of taking offense, he leaned right into it.
“Sometimes I am a conspiracy theorist, but I only believe in the conspiracy theories that are true,” Vance told reporters, dismissing the friction suggested by a new Vanity Fair article.
The question came from a reporter who asked for Vance’s reaction to Wiles’ comments, which reportedly described the Vice President as a “conspiracy theorist of a decade” and characterized his political evolution as an act of expediency.
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Vance brushed off the remarks as an inside joke, noting that he and Wiles have bantered about his skepticism “in private and in public” for a long time. He then rattled off a list of past “conspiracies” he stood by—including his opposition to masking toddlers during the COVID-19 pandemic and his early claims about President Biden’s cognitive decline—arguing that many of his controversial takes were simply ahead of the curve.
“It turns out that a conspiracy theory is just something that was true six months before the media admitted it,” Vance said.
Despite the sharp words in print, Vance offered a full-throated defense of Wiles’ character and loyalty. He contrasted her with other Washington figures who he claimed often undermine the administration from the shadows.
“I’ve never seen Susie Wiles say something to the President and then go and counteract him or subvert his will behind the scenes,” Vance said.
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He even shared a lighter moment to illustrate the administration’s behind-the-scenes dynamic, recounting a recent Oval Office meeting where President Trump stopped a discussion on international affairs to critique Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s footwear.
“He looks at our shoes and says, ‘You guys have terrible shoes,'” Vance laughed, adding that Trump immediately ordered four pairs for each of them. “The President is exactly in private who he is in public… and you know why I really love Susie Wiles? Because Susie is who she is in the President’s presence.”
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