Trump’s new aide: Donald is a terrible human being
DONALD Trump’s choice as the next White House chief of staff once labelled him ‘a terrible human being’, it has emerged.
Former congressman Mick Mulvaney is due to take up the role in January – but previously unseen footage shows him making disparaging comments about Mr Trump during the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.
Video of a debate has surfaced online in which the 51-year-old Republican says: ‘Do I like Donald Trump? No. Is he a role model for my sons? Absolutely not.’
Qualifying his remarks, he said Mr Trump’s adversary in the election, Hillary Clinton, was ‘just as bad’ before adding: ‘We have perhaps two of the most flawed human beings running for president in the history of the country.
‘Yes, I’m supporting Donald Trump. I’m doing so as enthusiastically as I can given the fact that I think he’s a terrible human being.’ The footage was unearthed by the US news website Daily Beast.
In a Facebook post also from 2016, Mr Mulvaney – a former congressman for South Carolina – slammed the US President over obscene comments he made about women.
According to NBC, he wrote: ‘I think one thing we’ve learned about Donald Trump during this campaign is that he is not a very good person.
‘What he said in the audiotape is disgusting and indefensible. My guess is that he has probably said even worse.
‘I’ve decided that I don’t particularly like Donald Trump as a person. But I am still voting for him. And I am still asking other people to do the same. And there is one simple reason for that: Hillary Clinton.’
It is thought the remarks refer to a tape of Mr Trump that emerged during the election campaign, in which he joked that he could ‘grab [women] by the p **** ’ because of his fame. Mr Mulvaney’s Facebook post has since been deleted.
Mr Mulvaney is currently chief at the Office of Management and Budget, which oversees the President’s budget proposals.
An OMB spokesman told The New York Times the remarks were made before Mr Mulvaney had met Mr Trump and were ‘old news’.
The White House was yet to react last night. However in light of the President’s frequent firing of staff, US commentators speculated whether Mr Mulvaney may even get to start his new job. Previous targets have included Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates who was sacked after ten days, National Security Advisor Michael Flynn who lasted 25 days, and communications director Anthony Scaramucci, who lasted 11 days.
However Mr Mulvaney and the President are known to play golf together, and Mr Trump is said to be a big fan of the straight-talking former congressman.
‘Disgusting and indefensible’