Nikki Haley accuses John Kelly, Rex Tillerson of scheming against Trump

In the book, which is due to be released on Tuesday, November 12, Haley touches on her behind-the-scenes interactions with then-top Trump officials.

NOVEMBER 11, 2019 17:42

U.S. President Donald Trump talks with U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley in the Oval Office of the White House after it was announced the president had accepted the Haley's resignation in Washington, U.S., October 9, 2018 (photo credit: REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST) — U.S. President Donald Trump talks with U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley in the Oval Office of the White House after it was announced the president had accepted the Haley's resignation in Washington, U.S., October 9, 2018

(photo credit: REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST)

Former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley alleges in her new book With All Due Respect that former chief of staff John Kelly and then-secretary of state Rex Tillerson attempted to rope her into “their sidebar plan” to undermine US President Donald Trump during their shared tenures in office.

“Kelly and Tillerson confided in me that when they resisted the president, they weren’t being insubordinate, they were trying to save the country,” Haley told CBS News. “Tillerson went on to tell me the reason he resisted the president’s decisions was because, if he didn’t, people would die... This was how high the stakes were, he and Kelly told me. ‘We are doing the best we can to save the country,’ they said. ‘We need you to work with us and help us do it.’ This went on for over an hour.

“Instead of saying that to me, they should’ve been saying that to the president, not asking me to join them on their sidebar plan. It should’ve been, ‘Go tell the president what your differences are, and quit if you don’t like what he’s doing,’” Haley added. “But to undermine a president is really a very dangerous thing. And it goes against the Constitution, and it goes against what the American people want – and it was offensive.”

Kelly told CBS Sunday Morning that “If by ‘resistance’ and ‘stalling’ she means putting a staff process in place … to ensure the [president] knew all the pros and cons of what policy decision he might be contemplating so he could make an informed decision, then guilty as charged.”

In her memoir, Haley says that during her time in the White House, Trump would consult her along with other top officials.

“He would listen to defense secretary James Mattis and secretary [Rex] Tillerson, and then usually he would ask for my opinion,” Haley told NPR. “I would tell him directly and honestly. This seemed to annoy Rex, particularly when I disagreed with him, which I often did.”

".@NikkiHaley is out with a new book, 'With All Due Respect' this week. Make sure you order your copy today, or stop by one of her book tour stops to get a copy and say hello. Good luck Nikki!" Trump coming out in support of Haley's memoir, tweeted.

.@NikkiHaley is out with a new book, “With All Due Respect” this week. Make sure you order your copy today, or stop by one of her book tour stops to get a copy and say hello. Good luck Nikki! https://t.co/uHKAAlVuLt
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2019

Trump encouraged his Twitter followers to purchase the book, tweeting on Sunday: “@NikkiHaley is out with a new book, With All Due Respect this week. Make sure you order your copy today, or stop by one of her book tour stops to get a copy and say hello. Good luck Nikki!”

Haley discussed the impeachment investigation in recent media interviews, telling NPR that while “it is not a good practice for us ever to ask a foreign country to investigate an American,” she doesn’t think Trump’s actions are impeachable.

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“The American people should decide this,” Haley told CBS News. “Why do we have a bunch of people in Congress making this decision?”

While Haley now defends Trump, in the 2016 election she had Twitter spats him, and supported Marco Rubio.

At the time, Haley said that Trump’s anger could lead the US into “a world war.”

At a rally in Atlanta in February 2016, Haley shouted, “Donald Trump, show us your tax return!”

Trump later tweeted that “the people of South Carolina are embarrassed by Nikki Haley!”, who was the state’s former governor. She responded with the classic southern line, “Bless your heart.”