Russia probe has ‘embarrassed’ U.S. president
Kelly reveals frustrations as Trump aide
WASHINGTON • Donald Trump’s chief of staff has said the president is “embarrassed” by the Russia investigation and must explain away the probe when he meets world leaders.
The comments could further raise tensions between Trump and John Kelly, whose attempt to bring order to the White House and his authoritative tone are said to grate on the president. Aides to Trump have always played down clashes between the pair but numerous U.S. media reports in recent months have suggested the president has discussed replacing Kelly.
Speaking to National Public Radio, Kelly was asked about the Russian election meddling investigation led by Robert Mueller, the special counsel.
Asked if it was a “cloud” hanging over the presidency, he said: “There may not be a cloud, but certainly the president is, you know, somewhat embarrassed, frankly.
“When world leaders come in, it’s kind of like you know Bibi Netanyahu is here — who’s under investigation himself — and … the first couple of minutes of every conversation might revolve around that kind of thing.”
Netanyahu, the prime minster of Israel, is facing a corruption investigation.
Asked about the embarrassment comment, Kelly told a group of reporters later Friday that he “corrected that and said ‘distracted.’ ” Asked if the president was distracted by the probe, Kelly said: “It’s untrue, it’s a witch hunt, right, and it distracts him — not too much, but it’s unfair.”
In the rare on-the-record interview, John Kelly also revealed his “great frustration” at times in the job and said illegal migrants are not “bad people,” but said they won’t assimilate easily.
“They’re overwhelmingly rural people. In the countries they come from, fourth-, fifth-, sixth-grade educations are kind of the norm,” Kelly said. “They don’t speak English; obviously that’s a big thing. … they don’t integrate well; they don’t have skills.”
While Kelly’s role in the administration appears to have diminished of late, he told NPR that he has a close relationship with Trump and said he has never considered leaving the White House.
“There’s times of great frustration, mostly because of the stories I read about myself or others that I think the world of, which is just about everybody who works at the complex, and wonder whether it’s worth it to be subjected to that,” he said.
Commentators noted Trump does not like personal criticism and the claim that he is “somewhat embarrassed” by the Russia investigation, which he dismisses as “witch hunt,” could rankle. The Russia investigation is looking into whether the Trump campaign worked with the Kremlin, and whether the president has obstructed justice, as well as other issues.