White House chief of staff John Kelly on Monday rejected a report from NBC that he has told other officials President Trump is an “idiot,” and that he sees himself as the only man who can save America from Trump.
“I spend more time with the President than anyone else and we have an incredibly candid and strong relationship,” Kelly said in a statement. “He always knows where I stand and he and I both know this story is total BS. I am committed to the President, his agenda, and our country. This is another pathetic attempt to smear people close to President Trump and distract from the administration’s many successes.”
Four officials told NBC News that Kelly has called Trump an “idiot.” And according to eight current and former White House officials, Kelly has made remarks suggesting he considers himself the only thing protecting the U.S. from calamity.
The report said Kelly has commented that he is the one responsible for minimizing the impact of Trump’s arbitrary requests and noted that Trump has little insight on policy issues and how the government operates.
“He says stuff you can’t believe,” one senior White House official said. “He’ll say it and you think, ‘That is not what you should be saying.’”
Three White House spokespeople reached by NBC argued they don’t believe Kelly has used the term “idiot” to characterize Trump and also noted they do not believe they have ever heard him use the term. Additionally, White House spokespeople claim they have not heard comments of the like from Kelly and suggested that if he did make those remarks, they could have been a joke.
According to the report, Trump has knowledge of some of Kelly’s comments, but was not familiar with all of them, officials said. Kelly was hired last summer by the White House to replace former chief of staff Reince Priebus.
