White House Chief of Staff John Kelly , who ignited a firestorm defending President Donald Trump 's behavior in a call to a Gold Star widow, waded deeper into controversy Monday when he defended Confederate war hero Robert E. Lee as an "honorable" man.

Appearing on the debut of " The Ingraham Angle " Monday night, Kelly also said the Civil War was a result of "the lack of an ability to compromise" over slavery, The Washington Post reported .

"I would tell you that Robert E. Lee was an honorable man," Kelly said. "He was a man that gave up his country to fight for his state, which 150 years ago was more important than country. It was always loyalty to state first back in those days. Now it's different today. But the lack of an ability to compromise led to the Civil War, and men and women of good faith on both sides made their stand where their conscience had them make their stand."

People quickly took to social media to criticize Kelly's comments.

Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor running for attorney general as a Democrat in Illinois, tweeted : "Kelly is half right. The civil war was caused by an unwillingness to compromise ... over slavery."

Color of Change, a nonprofit focused on racial injustice also tweeted : "Chief of Staff John Kelly's comments are wrong. There is no compromise between slavery and freedom."

Kelly's controversial remarks come just days after he criticized Rep. Frederica Wilson, (D-Fla), calling her an "empty barrel" after she said Trump was insensitive when consoling the wife of Sgt. La David Johnson, a soldier who died in combat after his patrol was ambushed in Niger earlier this month.

Ingraham asked Kelly about his comments about Wilson, and Kelly said he was "stunned" by the whole situation. But he added, "I stand by my comments."

John Kelly on Dispute With Rep. Wilson: 'I Stand by My Comments' | Read more: https://t.co/YSdj63y7g9 #IngrahamAngle pic.twitter.com/JLF28r9WFy — Fox News (@FoxNews) October 31, 2017

The retired Marine general's interview with Ingraham also touched on the indictments in the Mueller investigation, the escalating tensions with North Korea and refugees, which Kelly says are "a temporary problem."

