Mulvaney says he and Trump joked about ‘terrible human being’ comment

Incoming White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney on Sunday said he and President Trump recently joked about the time Mulvaney referred to the president as a “terrible human being.” 

Mulvaney told ABC’s Jon Karl that he and Trump have “talked about” the 2016 clip of Mulvaney saying then-candidate Trump was “absolutely not” a role model for his sons.

Mick Mulvaney says he talked with Trump about the 2016 clip in which he called Trump “a terrible human being.”

“We joked about it … what’s wrong with Washington, D.C.? people spend a lot more time looking at what people say instead of what they do” https://t.co/rxei1jotwk pic.twitter.com/gGKdcaLXLw

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) December 23, 2018

{mosads}”So have you talked to the president about it?” Karl asked on ABC’s “This Week.” 

“Sure,” Mulvaney said. “We joked about it last night.” 

“What’s wrong with Washington, D.C. — people spend a lot more time looking at what people say instead of what they do,” Mulvaney said, adding that his “actions” show that he has been “fighting” for the president.

“He likes having me around and I like working for him,” Mulvaney said. 

The Daily Beast reported earlier this week that Mulvaney called Trump a “terrible human being” at a debate in South Carolina in 2016.

“Do I like Donald Trump?” Mulvaney said two years ago. “No. Is he a role model for my sons? Absolutely not.”

“We have perhaps two of the most flawed human beings running for president in the history of the country,” Mulvaney continued. “Yes, I supported Donald Trump. I’m doing so as enthusiastically as I can given the fact I think he’s a terrible human being. But the choice on the other side is just as bad.” 

Mulvaney, the current director of the Office of Management and Budget, was chosen as acting chief of staff by Trump earlier this month. He will replace John Kelly, who’s due to step down at the end of the year.

CNN investigative unit KFile this week also reported 2015 comments Mulvaney made in which he called Trump’s border wall “absurd and almost childish.”