WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - White House Chief of Staff John Kelly claims he never seriously considered resigning despite numerous reports to the contrary.
In an interview with NPR that aired Friday, Kelly emphatically said 'No' when asked whether he had ever seriously considered leaving his post.
Kelly acknowledged experiencing 'times of great frustration' as chief of staff but said his only regret is not taking the job sooner.
'In retrospect, I wish I had been here from day one,' Kelly told NPR. 'I think in some cases in terms of staffing or serving the president that first six months was pretty chaotic and there were people some people hired that maybe shouldn't have.'
'It's not that things were a disaster that first six months, but I believe they could have been better,' he added. 'The White House was less organized than our president deserved.'
Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general, served as President Donald Trump's first Secretary of Homeland Security before being appointed to replace Reince Priebus as White House Chief of Staff.
In the wide-ranging interview with NPR, Kelly said he has a 'close relationship' with Trump, who he called a 'super smart guy.'
'He's very strong in terms of trade, taxes, business and he's a quick study on everything else,' Kelly said of Trump. 'He's a pretty bright guy.'
Kelly expressed support for Trump's decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal and predicted the president would not get 'strung along' by North Korea like his predecessors have.
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