Earlier this week, the internet just about blew up when Nikki Haley’s new book cited two former Trump cabinet members confiding in her they were working against Trump.
After Haley’s accusations from the book were made public, both individuals insisted that Nikki Haley was lying and both said they never did any such thing.
Rex Tillerson
While it was easy to believe what Haley said about both Rex Tillerson, the former Secretary of State, and General Kelly, the former Chief of Staff, Tillerson is the one that you would easily see making these comments.
Even before Tillerson was gone, there were rumors about him calling Trump an “idiot,” as well as many other slights.
While Tillerson and Trump were friends before Trump became President, it seemed as though the two rarely saw eye-to-eye on foreign policy.
In response to Haley saying he openly undermined and worked against Trump, Tillerson responded, “During my service to our country as the Secretary of State, at no time did I, nor to my direct knowledge did anyone else serving along with me, take any actions to undermine the President.
“My conversations with the President in the privacy of the Oval Office were always candid, frank, and my recommendations straightforward.
“Once the President made a decision, we at the State Department undertook our best efforts to implement that decision.
“Ambassador Haley was rarely a participant in my many meetings and is not in a position to know what I may or may not have said to the President. I continue to be proud of my service as our country’s 69th Secretary of State.”
General Kelly
When Kelly was hired, I actually thought he would be good for the administration, which was clearly lacking discipline and direction at the time.
It seemed as though many cabinet members were doing their own thing and far too many people had access to influence Trump.
Kelly quickly changed that and after his addition as Chief of Staff, the administration definitely took on a new look with a more focused purpose and effort.
In response to Haley’s statement, Kelly said, “If by resistance and stalling she means putting a staff process in place … to ensure the (president) knew all the pros and cons of what policy decision he might be contemplating so he could make an informed decision, then guilty as charged.”
Kelly even recently stated that he regretted leaving the administration because the focus that was there during his presence is no longer there.
He further stated that he believed if he was still there, this Ukraine nonsense would have never happened.
Considering everything that went down, though, I still tend to lean more towards the fact that Haley is telling the truth here, especially when it comes to Rex Tillerson.