Vanity Fair Pic Of Susie Wiles Proves Her Makeup Shouldn't Be Captured Up Close

By Heather Baver
Susie Wiles side eyeing and looking over her shoulder Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Susie Wiles, Donald Trump's chief of staff, sat down with Vanity Fair to provide a lengthy interview detailing her thoughts on her colleagues. The two-part series included some surprising remarks by Wiles, including her unflattering description that Trump "has an alcoholic's personality." While Trump didn't check out the article firsthand, he wasn't fazed by Wiles' remarks, and even praised her work. Wiles, on the other hand, was offended by the piece. "The article published early this morning is a disingenuously framed hit piece on me and the finest President, White House staff, and Cabinet in history," Wiles asserted on X (formerly Twitter). Beyond feeling unhappy about how she was presented in the text, Wiles was also likely displeased with one of her photos in the article.

This extreme close-up shot has passport photo/mugshot vibes. Her mouth is pressed into such a tight line that her lips almost disappear. Wiles is staring ahead with a deer in the headlights look, and it looks she's really dreading this photo op. To make matters worse, the chief of staff's makeup needed a touch-up, since little black flecks of her mascara are dotting the area under her eyes. Wiles also looks like she needs to change up her eyeliner routine. The black shade under her eye contributes to the mascara messiness. Instead, some blending, preferably in a lighter shade, would accentuate her lashes without looking clunky at close range.

Wiles wasn't the only one with an unflattering photo

Susie Wiles standing with Karoline Leavitt and other White House staffers Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

In addition to Susie Wiles' unflattering photo, the Vanity Fair article included other uncomfortably close shots, like a pic of JD Vance that was cropped right at the edges of his eyes. Karoline Leavitt's pic was even tighter, with the outer corners of her eyes and most of her chin out of the frame. Given her heavy-handedness with cosmetics, we've noted before that Leavitt's makeup should never be captured up close, and once again, it doesn't look great in the zoomed-in view.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio even went so far as to accuse the magazine of trying to make him and his colleagues look unflattering, writing on X, "It is obvious to most people that Vanity Fair deliberately manipulated pictures." However, photographer Christopher Anderson contended that this zoomed-in approach is one of his favorite techniques. Rather than Photoshopping the pics, Anderson claimed he skipped the post-production. "Some on the internet have expressed shock that I chose not to retouch blemishes, injection marks, wrinkles, etc." Anderson remarked to Newsweek. "From my perspective, it should be shocking if I did indeed retouch these things out."

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