President Trump on Thursday defended his delay in firing former national security adviser Michael Flynn, calling him "a very good person" and saying he didn't want to be too quick to fire the aide.

"This man [Flynn] has served for many years, he's a general, he's a — in my opinion — a very good person. I believe that it would be very unfair to hear from somebody who we don't even know and immediately run out and fire a general," Trump said in an interview with NBC's Lester Holt that aired Thursday night.

Trump has faced criticism for allowing an 18-day gap to pass from the time former acting Attorney General Sally Yates told him about Flynn's interactions with Russians to Trump's decision to fire Flynn.

"[White House counsel Don] McGahn came back to me and did not sound like an emergency," Trump said of Yates's information about Flynn.

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Trump fired Flynn in February after he misled Vice President Pence and White House officials about his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak about U.S. sanctions on Russia before Trump took office. Yates earlier this week testified that she warned White House officials Flynn that could be "blackmailed by the Russians" due to his conversations.

During the interview Thursday, Trump also said he didn't know about Flynn's payments from the Russian and Turkish governments but suggested former President Barack Obama Barack Hussein ObamaGOP senator blocks Schumer resolution aimed at Biden probe as tensions run high D-Day for Trump: September 29 Obama says making a voting plan is part of 'how to quarantine successfully' MORE did. The Russian payments were in 2015, while Flynn retroactively registered as a foreign agent after lobbying work performed last year that he indicated may have benefited the Turkish government.

"Obama perhaps knew because [Flynn] had clearance from the Obama administration," Trump told Holt. "And his clear — and this is something they never want to report — he had clearance from the Obama administration. The highest clearance you can have."