John Kelly: Trump is ‘Embarrassed’ by Russian Probe

President Donald Trump is not one to speak of himself in anything other than glowing superlative-filled terms.

Yet, according to White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, Trump is not only aware of the negative light the Russian probe is casting on the White House, he is at least “somewhat” embarrassed by it.

Speaking to NPR in an interview released on Thursday, Kelly said this:

It may not be a cloud but certainly, the President is, you know, somewhat embarrassed, frankly. When world leaders come in, it’s kind of like you know Bibi Netanyahu is here and he who’s under investigation himself and it’s like, you know, you walk in and you know the first couple of minutes of every conversation might revolve around that kind of thing.

In fairness, Kelly’s NPR interview is also full of many positive claims as well, including Kelly insisting Trump is  “a super smart guy.”

Yet as The New York Times‘ Maggie Haberman noted, the embarrassed statement is remarkable because Trump’s staff rarely say anything other than glowing things about their boss and his mood.

“It is rare to hear a high-level aide, etc, to Trump say he’s ’embarrassed’ about anything,” Haberman tweeted out in response to Kelly’s acknowledgment.

Kelly’s statement, though, was not intended to suggest that Trump had something to be embarrassed about personally when it came to the Special Counsel’s probe. When asked if he thought the Russian probe was a witch hunt, Trump’s chief of staff made it clear it was “something that has gone on this long without any real meat on the bone” and he thinks “there is nothing there, relative to our President.”

[image via screengrab]