President Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE has become increasingly indifferent about his chief of staff John Kelly John Francis KellyMORE's future in the White House.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that the president appeared largely unfazed by an NBC News report that Kelly had referred to him as "an idiot," and told his chief of staff that he did not believe that he made such a remark.

But current and former officials told the Times that Trump's response to the reported comment was more of a sign of his lukewarm feelings about Kelly, rather than an expression of confidence.

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Still, it appears unlikely that Trump will move to dismiss Kelly, a retired four-star Marine general. The president has often appeared averse to face-to-face confrontation, and according to the Times, he is acutely aware that firing Kelly would do little for his public image.

Speculation has swirled for months that Trump's relationship with Kelly has been deteriorating and that the chief of staff is on his way out at the White House.

Trump, according to the Times, has begun to believe that Kelly is concealing things from him, particularly about the pasts of White House staffers who opposed his 2016 presidential campaign or that have ties to the Bush family.

He has also insisted to friends and political allies that he alone is responsible for his successes in office, such as the recent progress in a detente with North Korea.

Kelly, on the other hand, has reportedly come to portray himself as a bulwark against potentially erratic or dangerous decisions by the president. He has also bristled at reprimands from Trump, saying that he doesn't "need this," according to the Times.

Zachary Fuentes, Kelly's deputy, denied that the chief of staff called the president an idiot, telling the Times in an interview that Kelly has "been smeared."

"He’s never called the president an idiot, he’s never called the president unhinged, and the idea that a Marine would ever tolerate somebody disrespecting the commander in chief like that is unthinkable," Fuentes said.

Fuentes also said that Kelly's relationship with Trump "is as strong as ever."

--Updated at 9:28 a.m.