White House chief of staff John Kelly defended himself against a new report Tuesday that he repeatedly questioned President Trump’s intelligence and once described him as “unhinged.”
“He’s an idiot. It’s pointless to try to convince him of anything. He’s gone off the rails. We’re in Crazytown. I don’t even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I’ve ever had,” Kelly reportedly said of Trump in journalist Bob Woodward’s new book “Fear: Trump in the White House.”
Kelly said that Woodward’s characterization is patently false and that it is simply another “attempt to smear people close to” Trump.
“The idea I ever called the President an idiot is not true,” Kelly said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “As I stated back in May and still firmly stand behind: ‘I spend more time with the President than anyone else, and we have an incredibly candid and strong relationship. He always knows where I stand, and he and I both know this story is total BS.'”
“I’m committed to the President, his agenda, and our country,” Kelly added. “This is another pathetic attempt to smear people close to President Trump and distract from the administration’s many successes.”
Kelly has previously denied making any comments disparaging the president’s intellect. NBC reported in April that he had once called Trump an “idiot,” but Kelly denied the reports.
Woodward’s book paints the picture of a White House in perpetual turmoil, with top aides often finding themselves at odds with the president to the point that some, such as former White House economic adviser Gary Cohn, offered their resignations.
Kelly is not the only White House official to criticize Woodward’s book.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders called the book “nothing more than fabricated stories, many by former disgruntled employees, told to make the President look bad.”
“While it is not always pretty, and rare that the press actually covers it, President Trump has broken through the bureaucratic process to deliver unprecedented successes for the American people,” Sanders said. “Sometimes it is unconventional, but he always gets results. Democrats and their allies in the media understand the President’s policies are working and with success like this, no one can beat him in 2020 – not even close.”
