Transcript for John Kelly speaks out after leaving White House

The president's former chief of staff John Kelly making headlines speaking out for the first time since leaving the white house about his time working in the trump administration. Our senior white house correspondent Cecilia Vega has the details. Good morning, Cecilia. There is eye-opening stuff here. Reporter: Yeah, there really is. He was speaking to students at duke university there, there were no cameras allowed inside but we have obtained the audio and one of the big headlines just what you said this is the first time he's talking publicly since leaving the white house. So what he's not talking about, though, that recent report that he was ordered by the president to approve those high-level security clearances for skwardz and that was over the recommendation of intelligence officials, but he did have a lot more to say. He -- take a listen to what he said had Hillary Clinton have won and what his advice is for his successor, Mick Mulvaney, the new chief of staff. What advice do you give your successor, Mulvaney? Run for it. No, just, as I've said repeatedly, just tell him what he needs to hear. If I'd gotten a call that Hillary Clinton had won the presidency, she had called me and said, you know, I really need a good chief of staff here, I'd have probably done it. Politics aside, it's all about governing the country. So he said he would have taken the job if Hillary Clinton won and tells Mick Mulvaney to run for it. Being chief of staff is the least enjoyable job he ever had. Remember, he's a retired four-star general but this is the most important. Not shy about taking on the president's border policies. Reporter: A big one here. He now says he's against that controversial child separation policy that we saw roll out along the border. He placed the blame squarely on Jeff sessions saying sessions caught the administration flat-footed but John Kelly was -- defended that policy publicly while in the white house. And spoke out against sending the military to the border as well. Cecilia Vega, thanks very much.

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