DIGGING THE HOLE

John Kelly: I’ll ‘Never’ Apologize for Rep. Frederica Wilson Comments

Trump chief of staff said he stands by false claims about a speech Wilson gave in 2015.

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said he stands behind his false statements about Rep. Frederica Wilson. In an interview with Laura Ingraham during the debut broadcast of the Fox News program The Ingraham Angle on Monday, Kelly said he did not feel the need to apologize to Wilson, whom he falsely accused earlier this month of bragging about securing funding for an FBI field office. Kelly’s claims came as part of an apparent effort to discredit Wilson, who criticized President Donald Trump for an insensitive phone call with the widow of a soldier killed in Niger. Asked on Monday night whether he felt the need to apologize, Kelly replied “oh, no. Never. Well, I’ll apologize if I need to. But for something like that, absolutely not. I stand by my comments.”