New book says Trump offered FBI director job to John Kelly, but demanded his loyalty
In his new book, Donald Trump v. The United States, Michael Schmidt of The New York Times writes that one day after President Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey, he called then-Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and offered him the job, Axios reports.
There was a catch, however. Trump told Kelly if he accepted the position, he "needed to be loyal to him, and only him," Schmidt writes. Kelly "immediately realized the problem with Trump's request for loyalty, and he pushed back to the president's demand," Schmidt said, telling him his only loyalty would be to the "Constitution and the rule of law."
Kelly later became the White House chief of staff, and Axios reports that during former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, Mueller and his investigators didn't learn about Trump's job offer because the president's lawyers limited the scope of his team's two-hour interview with Kelly.
Schmidt also writes that while working directly with Trump, Kelly was astonished by Trump's failure to "understand how those who worked for him — like Kelly and other top former generals — had interest in being loyal not to him, but to the institutions of American democracy." Kelly has told people close to him that Trump wanted to "behave like an authoritarian," Schmidt said, and has likened having to say no to Trump to "French kissing a chainsaw."
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