Trump kicks out coughing chief of staff during TV interview
DONALD TRUMP kicked his own acting chief of staff out of the Oval Office for coughing while he was conducting a television interview.
Mick Mulvaney, the object of the president’s ire, began making the noises as Mr Trump was being questioned by George Stephanopoulos of ABC News.
The president, seated at his desk, was speaking to Mr Stephanopoulos, who was standing next to him, as senior White House aides lingered off camera.
As the interviewer asked a question about Democrats trying to obtain Mr Trump’s tax returns the president said: “I hope they get it, because it’s a fantastic financial statement ...”
The unfortunate Mr Mulvaney then let out a loud cough, causing Mr Trump to break off what he was saying and point at the offender. He said: “Let’s do that over. He’s coughing in the middle of my answer.”
Mr Stephanopoulos asked: “Your chief of staff?” The president, clearly irritated, then scolded Mr Mulvaney. He said: “I don’t like that – you know I don’t like that. If you’re going to cough, please leave the room. You just can’t ... you just can’t cough.” Mr Trump then shook his head, adding: “Boy, oh boy.”
As Mr Mulvaney left the Oval Office, Mr Trump looked back to the camera and finished his answer.
The president is known to dislike people spreading germs in his presence, and once described himself as having a “germ phobia”.
In an interview with Howard Stern, the radio shock-jock, in 1993, Mr Trump said he washes his hands “as many times as possible” and that it “could be a psychological problem”.