Kelly denies calling Trump an idiot
WASHINGTON: New details emerged on the rift between White House chief of staff John Kelly and President Donald Trump, with one former administration official saying Kelly privately called Trump “an idiot” last year.
Kelly’s insult to the president’s intelligence, confirmed to The Associated Press by the former official, came as his clashes with Trump over policy and personnel grew louder and more frequent.
Kelly, who has cast himself as safeguarding the public from the president, has also threatened to quit the White House.
Kelly’s disparaging remark was first reported Monday by NBC News.
In a statement, Kelly called the report “total BS,” and characterised his relationship with Trump as “incredibly candid and strong”. He added of the president: “He always knows where I stand and he and I both know this story is total BS.”
Trump appeared to react to the NBC report on Twitter on Monday night. He tweeted: “The Fake News is going crazy making up false stories and using only unnamed sources (who don’t exist). The White House is running very smoothly.”
In recent months, Trump has chafed at Kelly’s management style, and occasionally talked with friends about replacing him.
In his early days in the White House, Kelly imposed strict controls on access and flow of information to Trump, though his influence has waned somewhat, aides said.
Kelly allies insist he has merely trained staff to follow his management protocols, but officials note Trump has grown more willing to act unilaterally, ignoring or not seeking out the advice of his top aide.
The disagreements between the retired four-star general and the businessman-turned-president have grown more animated, and on one such occasion last year Kelly blasted the president as “an idiot” to staffers, the former administration official told the AP. He requested anonymity.
Kelly has also told confidants that he has at times served as a barrier between Trump and the American people, according to a person familiar with his views, who also. requested anonymity.
Frustrated with his chief of staff, Trump has taken to paying more attention to the advice of former campaign aides like Corey Lewandowski.
The president also recently told an ally he was still frustrated by an interview Kelly gave to Fox News more than three months ago in which he suggested Trump had “evolved” in his thinking about the need for a wall on the Mexican border.
Trump’s anger about that remark – the president believed it insulted his intelligence and made him look like a flip-flopper on a signature campaign issue – was “the beginning of the end” for Kelly, according to several Trump confidants.
Moreover, a number of people whom Kelly ousted or blocked from the West Wing – including Lewandowski – are known to fill the president’s ears with attacks on the chief of staff.