Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” former White House staffer and “Apprentice” contestant Omarosa Manigault Newman said she taped people in the White House because it was a White House “where everybody lies.”

During the interview, a recording was played of White House chief of staff John Kelly firing Omarosa Manigault Newman in the Situation Room.

Manigault Newman said, “I protected myself because this is a White House where everybody lies. The president lies to the American people. Sarah Huckabee stands in front of the country and lies every single day. You have to have your own back because otherwise you’ll look back and see 17 knives in your back.”

When asked why she recorded the White House Chief of Staff, Manigault Newman said,”First of all. I’m on the African-American when you walk into the meeting there with John Kelly who’s refused to meet with me he whole time he’s’s there, — in the situation room, to talk about, you know, parking Chuck, we’re not going in there or scheduling issues.”

She continued, “Let me tell you, Chuck, it’s not disloyalty. If I did not have this recording, people would still believe the false incredible story that I was running around the White House — the false story that was told by a reporter and repeated by this network and other reporters that I tried to charge the residence at the white house. That’s a lie. If I didn’t have this recording, listen, people would still think that I was trying to set off alarms. So yes, I had to protect myself, and I have no regret about it.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN