Melania Trump is a "wonderful person" according to the former White House Chief of Staff, John Kelly, Tuesday. But he also pointed out that Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, have to "be dealt with."
Kelly responded to a question posed by Bloomberg's David Rubinstein at a recent interview on The David Rubinstein Show at the SALT Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.
On being asked whether it was "complicated" to have had a family of President Donald Trump working at the White House at the time he served, the former WH chief of staff singled out the First Lady of the United States, Melania, saying she is "wonderful."
But the president's daughter, Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, "were an influence" that he had to deal with. While Kelly did not say their names, the two were the only other Trump family members who worked at the White House.
It had become common knowledge among White House staff that Kelly and the couple did not get along very well. The rift had been brought on when the former WH chief of staff lowered Kushner's security clearance level.
Early last year, a White House source explained that Kelly had become exasperated with the two who were "freelancing" and getting in the way of the president making decisions. The former White House chief of staff had instituted a policy that gave the president the opportunity to weigh in on different views on issues presented to him without interference.
Despite this, Kelly could not change the unlimited access that Ivanka had to the president.
During his Las Vegas interview, the former WH chief of staff pointed out that his responsibilities then in "staffing" the United States President involved him piecing together not just staff for the White House but to consider as well that of the whole government.
He was ultimately responsible for finding and placing the right people who could help President Trump make decisions, whether "economic" or "social" as well as "life or death," according to Kelly.
He declared that though his job was "not very enjoyable" and "very, very hard," it had been "very meaningful."
As for Ivanka and Kushner, a report stated, they had become "exasperated" when the security clearance encounter with Kelly took place. In another report, Ivanka was said to have confided to a friend of hers, expressing dissatisfaction over what the WH chief of staff did, asking "why Jared" had to be "embarrassed" in that way.
