White House chief of staff John Kelly reportedly called President Donald Trump an "idiot" while questioning his intelligence on policy issues during a meeting.
Kelly has referred to the president as an "idiot" multiple times in private, four officials told NBC News.
In one meeting with other White House officials about the border wall and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, Kelly blurted out the insult, NBC News reported Monday.
"He doesn't even understand what DACA is. He's an idiot," Kelly reportedly said, according to two officials present in one meeting. "We've got to save him from himself."
Three White House spokespeople told the network Kelly was, in fact, concerned Trump would agree on a soft immigration deal, but do not believe he disrespected the president by calling him an "idiot."
"The president talks to a lot of people but no one talks to him more than the chief of staff," one spokesperson told NBC.
Kelly fired back against the report saying he has a "strong relationship" with Trump.
"I spend more time with the president than anyone else and we have an incredibly candid and strong relationship," Kelly said in a statement. "He always knows where I stand and he and I both know this story is total BS."
"I am committed to the president, his agenda, and our country. This is another pathetic attempt to smear people close to President Trump and distract from the administration's many successes," he continued.
CNN also reported Monday that Kelly said Trump was "becoming unhinged" during a national security meeting in March that included Defense Secretary James Mattis.
In January, Kelly told Fox News that Trump was uninformed when he promised his supporters a border wall during his campaign.
Trump pushed back, tweeting, "The Wall is the Wall, it has never changed or evolved from the first day I conceived of it."
