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In August 2017, shortly after John F. Kelly became White House chief of staff, he convened crucial meetings on Afghanistan at President Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, N.J.
Top officials from the Pentagon and the CIA, the director of national intelligence, diplomats and lawmakers huddled with Trump as Kelly and others urged him not to give up in Afghanistan.
“When I first took over, he was inclined to want to withdraw from Afghanistan,” Kelly recounted during an exclusive two-hour interview with the Los Angeles Times.
“He was frustrated. It was a huge decision to make ... and frankly there was no system at all for a lot of reasons — palace intrigue and the rest of it — when I got there.”
WNU Editor: An excellent post from the Los Angeles Times on its interview with White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly. There is a part of this post that did clicked with me ....
.... On most days, he said, he woke up at 4 a.m. and typically came home at 9 p.m. Then he often went straight into a secure area for classified reports and communications so he could keep working.
“I’m guarded by the Secret Service. I can’t even go get a beer,” he quipped.
I mentioned a month ago when everyone knew that John Kelly was leaving on how exhausting such a job actually is. I said that because I know someone who had this type of government position. He told me the same thing on how exhausting the work and responsibility is. You never sleep, and you never have any time for friends and family. And when you retire .... you leave feeling free, but also worried that your replacement will not be up to the job.
That is why IMHO .... and from what I know .... John Kelly served the President and country with honour and distinction. He will be hard to replace.
Quite interesting to watch John Kelly's face in the background as Trump says that "Germany is totally controlled by Russia." (via ABC). pic.twitter.com/qJvj30a3zv
* The White House said in a statement to The Washington Post on Wednesday that chief of staff John Kelly looked "displeased" at the NATO summit in Brussels "because he was expecting a full breakfast and there were only pastries and cheese."
* Reporters at the summit said Kelly looked uncomfortable during a working breakfast as Trump suggested Germany was "controlled by Russia."
* Trump's remarks on Germany and Russia generated a sharply worded response from German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The White House said in a statement to The Washington Post on Wednesday that chief of staff John Kelly looked "displeased" during part of the NATO summit in Brussels "because he was expecting a full breakfast and there were only pastries and cheese."
During a working breakfast that marked the start of the summit, Trump said Germany was "controlled by Russia," citing an energy partnership between the two countries.
* Trump's chief of staff told NPR there is 'nothing there' regarding the probe
* He said Trump was 'embarrassed' when people like Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu come to town (Bibi is facing a corruption investigation)
* Says of illegal immigrants coming here: 'They're overwhelmingly rural people'
* Claims 'they don't integrate well'
Special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe is not only witch hunt, as President Trump calls it, but it's also downright awkward, White House chief of staff John Kelly says.
The probe which has already drawn guilty pleas from Trump associates and led to the indictment of his campaign chair and a raid on his personal lawyer also can lead to awkward small talk when Trump tries to sit down with a foreign leader.
Kelly told NPR it's a particular issue when someone like Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu comes to town. Netanyahu is facing his own corruption in investigation in Israel.
WNU Editor: The Russian probe is definitely a distraction. And even though the Mueller Counsel has nothing on President Trump .... and after a year I can confidently say they will have nothing in the weeks/months/year ahead .... they will continue to probe and investigate, including doing things like this .... EXCLUSIVE: Special counsel probing donations with foreign connections to Trump inauguration (ABC News). And while I am sure that President Trump knows this ..... I am also sure that he knows that this probe is being used to target those who supported him in his Presidential campaign, as well as on those who are working for him now. But that was probably the whole intention of this probe in the first place .... discredit President Trump, and attack those who support him.
Consider this nightmare scenario: a military coup. You don’t have to strain your imagination—all you have to do is watch Thursday’s White House press briefing, in which the chief of staff, John Kelly, defended President Trump’s phone call to a military widow, Myeshia Johnson. The press briefing could serve as a preview of what a military coup in this country would look like, for it was in the logic of such a coup that Kelly advanced his four arguments.
WNU Editor: I read the 4 points that Masha Gessen outlines .... and I said to myself .... what does any of this have to do with a military coup? The answer is nothing. All that John Kelly talked about was the honor of the men and women in the military and the respect we should all have for their service, and why he was not happy with how this has all become politicized starting with the Gold Star parents Khizr and Ghazala Khan appearing on the last day of the Democrat convention last year. And as expected .... the press is now piling on using the Khan family as their shield to go after John Kelly, a Gold Star father .... Gold Star father Khizr Khan says Trump's chief of staff needs to stop 'mopping up' the President's mess (The Independent). More piling on John Kelly from here .... General John Kelly's Credibility Takes A Hit (MSNBC).
Washington (CNN)White House chief of staff John Kelly, in an extraordinary and at times emotional statement Thursday, said he was "stunned" by what a Democratic congresswoman told reporters after she listened in on President Donald Trump's call to the widow of a fallen soldier.
Kelly, a Gold Star father, said he was "brokenhearted" by the congresswoman's criticism and said that he had advised Trump on what to say before he called the families of the four fallen soldiers who died during an ambush in Niger. Kelly said he encouraged Trump to echo words Gen. Joseph Dunford offered to Kelly when his own son was killed in Afghanistan.
* John Kelly makes a surprise appearance in briefing room
* Vanity Fair reported Wednesday that he is ‘miserable’ in job
President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, John Kelly, surprised reporters on Thursday when he conducted the White House’s daily news briefing himself and said he isn’t planning to quit and doesn’t expect to be fired.
“I am not so frustrated in this job that I’m thinking of leaving,” he said to open his briefing, an apparent nod at occasional reports he has considered quitting. “Unless things change, I’m not quitting, I’m not getting fired, and I don’t think I’ll fire anyone tomorrow.”
WNU Editor: President Donald Trump’s Chief of Staff John Kelly did the White House briefing today because he wanted to personally respond to this report .... Is The U.S. President 'Unravelling'? It has been an interesting 7 days. First Tillerson comes out last week to deny press reports that he is on his way out. Then Mattis comes out yesterday to deny press reports that President Trump wants to increase the nuclear arsenal 10x. And now John Kelly going out to deny press reports that he is quitting. I see a trend, and it makes you wonder on who is going to come out next. As to what's my take .... since the election of President Trump I have lost count on the number of news stories and opinion pieces explaining to me that President Trump is out of touch, bizarre, angry, erratic, corrupt, childish, confused, deranged, insulting, etc. .... and that he deserves to be impeached (the sooner the better). Here is just one example among many from today that proves my point .... Impeachment probably won’t save us from Trump. But the 25th Amendment might. (Paul Waldman, Washington Post). The problem with this narrative .... and this is probably why the media has failed in convincing the public that their narrative on Trump is true .... is that because Trmp is President he controls the bully-pulpit, and more to the point .... he is always being videotaped. Is he out of touch, bizarre, angry, erratic, corrupt, childish, confused, deranged, etc. in these videotapes? Far from it. I see someone who enjoys being sarcastic and needling the media .... and they always oblige him by taking his remarks hook line, and sinker. If he is angry it is usually because of the press on how they report on him .... but his anger pales in comparison to the hate and vitriol that is being directed at him by these same members in the press who go out of their way to convince us that he is the angry one. The videos from the Oval Office also show him to be very calm, deferential, and respectful to those who visit him (as the case was with Prime Minister Trudeau and his wife in the Oval Office yesterday). He also enjoys asking questions .... and he employs a tactic that I always enjoy using .... asking an out of bounds question or making an exaggerated statement just to see how people respond to it (you will be surprised to see how people respond when you do that). It may not be Presidential .... but it does get the discussion going. He also appears to be happy most of the time .... especially in front of crowds who support him. But what is important to me is that you can tell that he enjoys being President, and that he wants the agenda that he was elected on passed. He does not want to "do" President .... he wants to "be" President. I guess this is another reason on why his opponents are not happy with him .... this is not their agenda, and since many of them have not accepted the result of last year's election .... preferring to believe that the election was stolen from Hillary Clinton rather than believing that President Trump won .... they feel that their opposition to him is morale and just. But what is interesting to me is that this may have worked in the past .... it is definitely not working now. As to what is next .... here is another easy prediction .... expect another news report saying that the White House is in disarray and that the President has "lost it" in the coming days. Also expect more stories that the Russians helped steal the election, and that the Mueller Commission is continuing to gather evidence that proves that the Trump team colluded with the Russians in the last election.
More News On President Trump's Chief Of Staff John Kelly
White House tech support discovered the suspected breach after Kelly turned his phone in to tech support staff this summer.
White House officials believe that chief of staff John Kelly’s personal cellphone was compromised, potentially as long ago as December, according to three U.S. government officials.
The discovery raises concerns that hackers or foreign governments may have had access to data on Kelly’s phone while he was secretary of Homeland Security and after he joined the West Wing.
Tech support staff discovered the suspected breach after Kelly turned his phone in to White House tech support this summer complaining that it wasn’t working or updating software properly.
Kelly told the staffers the phone hadn’t been working properly for months, according to the officials.
White House aides prepared a one-page September memo summarizing the incident, which was circulated throughout the administration.
WNU Editor: He should have handed his phone in when he first learned that there was a problem with it. But cell phones aside, Chief of staff John Kelly has a bigger problem .... Tillerson Summoned to White House Amid Presidential Fury (NBC).
John F. Kelly, the White House chief of staff, has regimented the flow of paper, people and information inundating an omnivorous and undisciplined President Trump. Credit Al Drago for The New York Times
WASHINGTON — President Trump was in an especially ornery mood after staff members gently suggested he refrain from injecting politics into day-to-day issues of governing after last month’s raucous rally in Arizona, and he responded by lashing out at the most senior aide in his presence.
It happened to be his new chief of staff, John F. Kelly.
Mr. Kelly, the former Marine general brought in five weeks ago as the successor to Reince Priebus, reacted calmly, but he later told other White House staff members that he had never been spoken to like that during 35 years of serving his country. In the future, he said, he would not abide such treatment, according to three people familiar with the exchange.
While Mr. Kelly has quickly brought some order to a disorganized and demoralized staff, he is fully aware of the president’s volcanic resentment about being managed, according to a dozen people close to Mr. Trump, and has treaded gingerly through the minefield of Mr. Trump’s psyche. But the president has still bridled at what he perceives as being told what to do.
WNU Editor: There is something about this New York Times article that makes me feel that this is fake news. The only two people who know where their relationship stands are President Trump and Chief of Staff John F. Kelly .... two men who have no interest in leaking information to the press. So who is talking to the New York Times? Your guess is as good as mine .... because my gut is screaming at me that it is not these two guys. On a side note .... leaks have almost disappeared from the White House .... so you have to wonder .... is this blow-back from the New York Times?
New Chief of Staff John Kelly moves quickly to bring order and discipline to a West Wing riven by conflict.
WASHINGTON—In the Oval Office earlier this week, a small group of senior officials talked with President Donald Trump about plans to take on Beijing over intellectual-property theft. When a side debate broke out between two top aides, the new White House chief of staff ordered the pair out of the room.
Return, John Kelly told them, once your differences are resolved, according to a person familiar with the exchange.
The move kept the meeting on track. It also signaled to top staff that Mr. Kelly, a retired four-star general, planned to bring new order and discipline to a West Wing that has been riven for six months with division and disorganization.
After one week, other signs of Mr. Kelly’s taking the reins include the end of the unchecked flow of paperwork that crosses the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, and a new, more formal process for meeting with the president, according to interviews with more than two dozen White House officials, the president’s informal advisers, associates of Mr. Kelly, members of Congress and Capitol Hill aides.
WNU Editor: I do not see General Kelly being able to limit President Trump's Twitter use .... but if he could bring some order to the Oval Office .... that would be a big improvement over the past 6 months.
Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly pay respects at the funeral of Pvt. Harry K. Tye at Arlington National Cemetery, Mar. 28, 2017. Pvt. Tye was killed on Nov. 20, 1943 during the Battle of Tarawa. His remains were recovered by History Flight from Cemetery 27 on Tarawa and interned on U.S. soil. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Dana Beesley). Photo via DoD
Two of President Trump's top advisers reportedly agreed in the early days of the administration that they would not leave the United States at the same time, in order to ensure they could monitor orders coming from the White House.
The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that Secretary of Defense James Mattis and then-Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly — who was sworn in as chief of staff on Monday — agreed in the early weeks of Trump's presidency to coordinate travel plans so that one of them would always be in the United States.
The pact, revealed to The AP by an anonymous official close to Mattis and Kelly, seems to hint at the nature of the Trump administration's internal relations.
Both Mattis and Kelly have been active in providing clarification of executive orders released by the White House.
WNU Editor: The key excerpt from the AP report is the following ....
.... Mattis and Kelly also agreed in the earliest weeks of Trump's presidency that one of them should remain in the United States at all times to keep tabs on the orders rapidly emerging from the White House, according to a person familiar with the discussions. The official insisted on anonymity in order to discuss the administration's internal dynamics.
Hmmmm .... the information for this story is from one anonymous source. Should we be sceptical .... yes.
More News On Reports That Cabinet Officials And (Ret.) Generals Jim Mattis And John Kelly 'Made A Pact' To Oversee President Trump
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen retired Marine Gen. John F. Kelly to run the Department of Homeland Security, turning to a blunt-spoken border security hawk who clashed with the Obama administration over women in combat and plans to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, according to people familiar with the decision.
Kelly, who retired in February as chief of U.S. Southern Command, would inherit a massive and often troubled department responsible for overseeing perhaps the most controversial part of Trump’s agenda: his proposed crackdown on illegal immigration. DHS is the third-largest Cabinet department, with more than 240,000 employees who do everything from fight terrorism to protect the president and enforce immigration laws.
Kelly, 66, is a widely respected military officer who served for more than 40 years, and he is not expected to face difficulty winning Senate confirmation. Trump’s team was drawn to him because of his southwest border expertise, people familiar with the transition said. Like the president-elect Kelly has sounded the alarm about drugs, terrorism and other cross-border threats he seems as emanating from Mexico and Central and South America.
I have been involved in numerous computer science projects since the 1980s, as well as developing numerous web projects since 1996.
These blogs are a summation of all the information that I read and catalog pertaining to the subjects that interest me.
