President Trump’s former chief of staff John Kelly said Wednesday evening that the idea of a full border wall is “a waste of money.”
Speaking onstage during a moderated talk at Duke University, Kelly said although there are specific areas where a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border would be effective, “We don’t need a wall from sea to shining sea.”
Kelly also called out Trump’s repeated claims that those crossing the border illegally are criminals and pose a threat to the country’s national security. “They’re overwhelmingly not criminals. They’re people coming up here for economic purposes. I don’t blame them for that,” he said.
During the event, Kelly said he disagreed with Trump’s decision to declare a national emergency in a bid to secure funding for a border wall, the Duke Chronicle reports.
During the wide-ranging conversation, Kelly also discussed Trump’s acumen, saying, “By no means is he a stupid man. He’s an accomplished businessman, and he’s got all the education and whatnot, but not everybody is an expert on everything.”
Kelly explained that as much as he disliked the job, “it was the most important thing I’ve ever done in my life.” He also said that if Hillary Clinton were to have won the 2016 presidential election and asked him to serve that he would have done it.
Kelly served as Trump’s chief of staff from 2017 until he resigned from the role in December. Mick Mulvaney has served as acting chief of staff since then. When asked what advice he had for Mulvaney, Kelly joked that Mulvaney should “run like hell.”
