White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro Friday flatly rejected reports that Chief of Staff John Kelly is planning to resign, interrupting a CNN host to tell him to "stop right there" when speaking of the retired general's "expected departure."
"That's not happening as far as I know," Navarro told CNN's Jim Sciutto. "I don't believe that until I see it. We have seen this reporting every day since he got there. We saw it back in May."
President Donald Trump is traveling to Kansas City on Friday, but Kelly is not going with him, which CNN called "significant." But Navarro said that it's "no big deal" that Kelly isn't going on the trip.
"This is unfair to our administration, to pick on people one by one saying they're going to go or they don't have the confidence of the president or they don't have this and that," said Navarro. "It's got to stop. It's like when and if the chief resigns, let him go. He's an honorable man. He's a great chief."
Citing two sources familiar with the situation, CNN reported earlier on Friday that the relationship between Kelly and Trump has deteroirated, and that the two have quit speaking to each other in recent days.
Further, a source said that Trump has been actively discussing a replacement plan. Kelly has been close to resigning or being fired several times before, but aides do not think the relations between him and Trump can be saved. According to the sources, Trump is concerned about Democrats taking the house in January and wants someone who will be more politically savvy than Kelly.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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