Tensions appeared to spill into public view last week when President Donald Trump directly contradicted chief of staff John Kelly's characterization of the president's views on immigration. | Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo Trump praises Kelly amid reports of in-house tension

President Donald Trump praised chief of staff John Kelly on Tuesday, saying he overcame "fake reporting" to do a "fantastic job," after reports the relationship between the two was fraying.

"Thank you to General John Kelly, who is doing a fantastic job, and all of the Staff and others in the White House, for a job well done," the president tweeted. "Long hours and Fake reporting makes your job more difficult, but it is always great to WIN, and few have won more than us!"


Vanity Fair reported Monday that Trump had fumed over Kelly's large presence in the administration, lamenting to a friend that he has "another nut job here who thinks he’s running things," according to a source briefed on the discussion. Kelly in turn has "expressed frustration with Trump’s freewheeling management style and habit of making offensive statements," Vanity Fair said.

Tensions appeared to spill into public view last week when Trump directly contradicted Kelly's characterization of the president's views on immigration.

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During an interview on Fox News on Wednesday, Kelly said Trump's stance on immigration had "evolved" with respect to his proposed wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. Kelly added that Trump had “changed the way he’s looked at a number of things” and was considering many practical solutions to improving border security.

"There’s been an evolutionary process that this president has gone through," Kelly added.

Trump directly contradicted Kelly's remarks on Twitter the following morning.

"The Wall is the Wall, it has never changed or evolved from the first day I conceived of it," the president wrote in a series of tweets.

