President Donald Trump addressed questions Saturday evening about his relationships with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and White House chief of staff John Kelly amid reporting about tensions among his top aides.
“I have a very good relationship” with Tillerson, Trump told reporters as he left the White House for a fundraiser in North Carolina on Saturday evening, adding that Kelly likes the secretary of state as well.
“We disagree on a couple of things,” Trump said, seemingly referring to Tillerson when asked if Kelly had advised him against publicly critiquing the secretary. “Sometimes I’d like him to be a little bit tougher, but other than that we have a very good relationship.”
Tillerson, who has reportedly been displeased with Trump and his own role in the administration, made a public statement this week reaffirming his support for the President after news reports spoke of acrimony between the two men — principally, that Tillerson had questioned Trump’s intelligence, calling him a “moron,” in front of other top officials. That, in turn, prompted questions over Kelly’s own frustrations in managing the White House.
Tillerson’s reaffirmation of his support for Trump prompted the President to say his secretary of state had refuted the story about the reported insult. Trump later told reporters inside a Las Vegas hospital, where he was visiting to console the victims of Sunday’s mass shooting, that he has “total confidence” in Tillerson and said reports that the secretary of state called him a moron were “fake news” and “totally made up.”
In his remarks Saturday evening, the President was also effusive about his second chief of staff, who took on the role in July.
“John Kelly is one of the best people I’ve ever worked with,” Trump told reporters. “He’s doing an incredible job, and he told me for the last month he loves it more than anything he’s ever done. … He will be here, in my opinion, for the entire remaining seven years.”