Ever since General John Kelly came in as Donald Trump’s chief of staff, people have been wondering when Kelly would call it a day and simply go home. By most accounts, Kelly isn’t much for political infighting or diplomacy between warring factions of the Republican party. When reporters recorded his reactions to Trump’s unhinged speech (at Trump Tower) about Charlottesville, many noted Kelly’s winces and grimaces. Kelly is not a die-hard Deplorable, although let’s not pretend that he’s our last best hope either. In any case, it’s sort of amazing that this is a story: Politico reported yesterday that Kelly is trying to control the flow of right-wing nutter information to the president. As in, Kelly doesn’t want Trump to just sit around all day, reading right-wing propaganda.
Confronted with a West Wing that treated policymaking as a free-for-all, President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, John Kelly, is instituting a system used by previous administrations to limit internal competition — and to make himself the last word on the material that crosses the president’s desk.
It’s a quiet effort to make Trump conform to White House decision-making norms he’s flouted without making him feel shackled or out of the loop. In a conference call last week, Kelly initiated a new policymaking process in which just he and one other aide — White House staff secretary Rob Porter, a little-known but highly regarded Rhodes scholar who overlapped with Jared Kushner as an undergraduate at Harvard — will review all documents that cross the Resolute desk.
The new system, laid out in two memos co-authored by Kelly and Porter and distributed to Cabinet members and White House staffers in recent days, is designed to ensure that the president won’t see any external policy documents, internal policy memos, agency reports and even news articles that haven’t been vetted. Kelly’s deputy, Kristjen Nielson, is also expected to assume an integral role.
Politico notes that this is actually not a new thing, that many past presidents had their flow of information culled by senior staffers, mostly as a time-saving efficiency measure. The problem is that past presidents like Barack Obama and George HW Bush were huge readers, and their staffers didn’t have to worry that they would end up on some fringe website, reading some wingnut conspiracy theory and then repeating the theory on Twitter. Also: Donald Trump is not much of a reader, so maybe Kelly should simply take away Trump’s TV remote, because I really feel like Trump spends most of his days watching Fox News. Here’s Trump’s hilarious take on this story:
General John Kelly is doing a fantastic job as Chief of Staff. There is tremendous spirit and talent in the W.H. Don't believe the Fake News
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2017
KELLY IS LITERALLY TRYING TO KEEP FAKE NEWS OFF HIS DESK.
Speaking of alt-right propaganda, did you know that game respects game? Apparently, the Russian propaganda apparatus is 100% behind the alt-right propaganda media in America. Wheels within wheels, I’ll tell you.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
No one can control Trump. Wishful thinking.
Exactly. The more expectations you place on Trump, the more he resists and lashes out. He will be an a$$hole just to prove to Kelly he can’t stop him from being an a$$hole.
Kelly is actually trying to do the job of Chief of Staff. This is how presidents have handled the flow of information in the past. Same with governors and both state and federal agency heads. That is, IF, they are doing their jobs and hire competent people. There have been way too many people doing their own thing in this administration, which highlights how incompetent they all are. But try as he may to bring some semblance of order to that administration, I really don’t think Kelly is going to last long. Neither Orange Voldy himself or Princess Nagini are going to follow anybody’s rules for long.
And Princess Nagini is showing off a pile of fake letters on Twitter. They’re supposedly from kids. And they all have the same handwriting and are using the same markers.
Oh for crying out loud. How long did it take Huckabee Sanders to create those fake letters?
I can’t with these people. Complicity Barbie proves again that she isn’t very bright.
I took a look – OMG! All “Ms. Ivanka Trump,” all crudely drawn hearts — the one slip was the green face with dollar signs for eyes. What was THAT about? Maybe that one’s authentic.
Also, why are they all saying “Thank you” — for what are they thanking Ms. Ivanka Trump specifically? Even if some tacky kindergarten teacher forced her kids to sit down and follow that same format on the board, why Ivanka Trump?
Finally (maybe), is it one of Ivanka’s primary jobs as Special Advisor to the POTUS to sit down and ‘read’ children’s thank-you notes addressed to her? She implies that this is a regular task. With all the problems confronting the United States – including, now, a major hurricane – this self-serving bullshit highlights what, that she works in Santa’s Workshop?
I wonder why her kids call her Ms. Ivanka Trump.
The lettering for “ivanka” is the same on every single one of the letters and it is not normal handwriting. You might have one person who writes like that but not a whole group of kids.
Yes I saw that tweet. What kid would write letters to her and what has she done that kids are thanking her? Simply walking and breathing is not a major accomplishment and won’t earn the gratitude of others. Complicit Barbie should just not talk.
Where might we look at these silly letters?
What an idiot. Lord please let us make it through these horrible years without a civil war, a nuclear war and my sanity intact.
I’ve read everywhere that Trumps team gives him a folder every morning full of articles that only say positive things about him, to keep him from being childish and grouchy.
Unfortunately, it looks like Kelly can’t control the tremendously out of control clown in the Oval Office.
TWICE a day. They’ve been giving him that stupid folder twice a day. And we are paying someone to compile it. I hope Kelly stops it.
lol. How can they find enough pro-Trump junk to fill 2 folders every day? They must be slipping in some old news that he forgot he’d already seen, or just giving him the same folder twice a day
@beth, they write it themselves! Ownself praises ownself!
@beth
Didn’t that guy quit? Not that I blame him!!!
No more work for him.
And one of the people that was charged with finding positive articles on Trump has resigned. Probably like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Beth: Aahhh, that would explain the Blue Folder of Important Documents Princess Ivanka was photographed with the other day.
Good luck with that, Kelly.
Your subject is his own worst enemy and sooner or later he is going to get bored with not having anything “interesting” to read and he is either going to demand access to that sh*t, or he will simply go around you and subvert your authority by having other people slip this information to him in other ways. There are still plenty of courtiers waiting to garner favor with the lunatic at the helm.
That’s what happens when you run the presidency like it was an episode of The Tudors.
Did you know Trump is given files of articles and photos showing how great he is TWICE A DAY? Somebody’s job is to feed Seymour (Trump’s ego) all day every day. This is NOT NORMAL.
I don’t think this man can change. He’s 71 y.o. And set in his ways also, IMO he’s acting like someone with bi polar disorder. One day he’s calm as if he’s sedated and the next he’s ranting and raving, e.g. At his rally in Arizona he yelling ATIFA for no apparent reason. He lies for no apparent reason, he makes up story for no apparent reason. The only way Kelly can help control 45 is with medication. I honestly believe he maybe on some kind of uppers, or he should be on medication. I remember Dr Howard Dean saying last year saying 45 was using cocane because he was doing a lot of sniff, sniff, sniffing on stage with Hillary during the debate. Who knows what’s going on, we maybe in big trouble.
Speaking as someone with Bipolar Disorder, who has been through both rapid cycling and the longer cycles, and who knows quite a few people with bipolar, simply because we need each other for support, he’s not really acting like someone with Bipolar. I would go narcissistic personality disorder, which is clustered with borderline and antisocial personality disorders, not Bipolar. The calm, almost drugged times are when he’s being forced, drugged, or bribed to adhere to social norms as he understands them, and the rabid craziness is his true personality.
No matter what, he’s an awful person and should not be president, and I agree, medication would be everyone’s best friend if they could get him to take it (or hide it in his KFC). Just wanted to clarify because there are a lot of people who think Bipolar looks like Trump, and it really doesn’t. *sigh* Thank God for that, at least.
Liz, I agree, my father has bipolar and he acts nothing like Trump, I would actually say my father is perfectly sane and normal compared to the way Trump goes on, there is something wrong with him, but I don’t believe he is bipolar.
Yeah, I’m Bipolar I and II, mixed episode, rapid cycle. And My two kids (boys) My Dad, My sister and some friends.
No one acts like him. So I’d say not bipolar.
I agree he is probably in the NPD/Anti Social/ Borderline/ cluster, thats more what that looks like. and if we add in cocaine, which he definitely took a ton of in the 80’s and 90’s and 00’s according to many people that socialized with him. Then We get how he behaves.
Now he could also be bipolar, ocd ect, in the affect disorder cluster as well. His paranoia could be coming from a anxiety disorder. Some of the shit he comes up with sounds like my grandmother who is OCD
You can be in more than one cluster of disorders.
Keep your resignation letter handy in your back pocket, General.
Yes he should. As they say ‘the fish rots from the head’ and he’s seen what’s happened to all the others so he must know that he’ll soon be part of the revolving door at the White House.
Working in the White House must be a high pressure and stressful place to work at the best of times. But, I can’t imagine what it must be like to work there with the current president and the turmoil that surrounds him.
I feel like I’ve aged 10 years since January. If it’s this stressful from home, I can’t imagine what it’s like actually being in the White House trying to control and fix everything this asswipe does. I’d probably be completely bald from ripping my hair out because of all the frustration
Usually the leader ages due to the stress and weight of responsibility. Now, everyone else (staff and public) will be rapidly aging.
For those interested in the fisherman’s net, Seth Abramson has a pretty great thread (about 70 tweets worth) regarding impaneled grand juries in VA and DC.
For non-lawyers, it’s a great way to catch up on Mueller’s long law arm grabbing Flynn and Sessions, if he really even needs them.
Apparently, two major news outlets are about to blow up with great stories for resisters to Emperor Zero.
Down with Emperor Zero (aka EZ)
I wish, most of us wish, more were coming down the Mueller pike. But the “two major outlets” thing, if it comes from Claude Taylor — well, he’s been proven fraudulent.
Stories about email chains. And the pee tape does exist.
LP,
Thanks for the update!
Resist!
The tape is coming. We will see it. Will it be enough is the question. I’m not sure his base will care.
The prospect of ever stumbling across a Two Scoops water sports sex tape would make me wish I’d stared straight at the eclipse until my retinas burnt into ash.
@Rapunzel. They’ll say it’s the most golden, bigliest pee ever.
@Rapunzel Nothing will change how the deplorables feel about Trump.
Glenn Simpson testified before the Senate judiciary committee in a closed door session and said he stands behind the claims in the dossier. I think Trump is really running scared, which may explain his urgent need to keep the neo nazis on Team Trump.
I’m positive his base won’t care and the R party won’t care either. I don’t believe gutless, greedy Congress is going to do anything to remove him. He is their best chance of finally getting what they want. His base would love to see a pee tape where Twoscoops pees on the bed Obama used. Glee for days.
No, a pee or sex tape is not grounds for impeachment. What he did to prevent the tape from seeing the light of day might be.
Who has the tape??!! I am excited. Please, give me some insights!!
Cohn stepped down? Is it official yet?
Confirmation of the pee-pee tape, while ultimately irrelevant compared to all of his other transgressions, would still be fun/funny for the sheer humiliation factor.
@Kitten I have mixed feelings because I would love to see Trump humiliated, but then I think of poor Barron. The shame would probably force him into home schooling, which would mean more time with his horrible father.
What I don’t understand is this thinking that GOP needs to keep Orangino in order to push their agenda. Wouldn’t they be able to get their crap done faster with Pence at the helm? This is what I don’t understand at all. Why the hesitancy?
We should all tweet articles to him. Flood his account with real news of the world laughing at him.
It would basically look like MY twitter feed!
He recently banned Stephen King. LOL It is a badge of honor to get banned from his Twitter. I may just spend a little free time bombarding him with pointed insults. I can sprinkle in a few names of people I know he knows, but he wouldn’t know how I knew just to scare him to his lemony roots.
“X says long time no see.”
Most people here already know, but for those who don’t, check Pete Souza’s IG. He was the official WH photographer during BHO’s two terms and every day he posts a photo or two from those days that throw glorious shade at the daily trump insanity.
If you want to feel uplifted, find the Twitter feed for Obama with Kids (something like that).
Everyone in Texas, good luck and stay safe. I don’t know if Trump tweeted about the storm yet, or if he’s just too busy slamming his fellow Republicans like Corker and everyone else who’s hurting his feelings
Is anyone in charge of FEMA or is it another Brownie FUBAR?
Brock Long appears to be competent. He was nominated April 28 and confirmed June 20 (Trump claims the delay in filling the post is somehow Democrats fault), so he is very new to the job.
Saw this on yahoo this morning. Trump advisor Roger Stone warns “any politician who votes to impeach him would endanger their own life.” Asked if he believed there would be “some sort of Civil War if the president was impeached” he replied: “Yes that’s what I think will happen. Both sides are heavily armed… there would be violence on both sides.” He continues, “not advocating violence but predicting it.” This is from #45 good friend who is trying to threatened and intimidate anyone who votes to impeach. The man, 45 is gangster with his gangster associates threatening congress. What a disaster 45 is.
I read that earlier too, and I was wondering who that man was. I thought his little blurb came through as trying to be quite intimidating. What’s sad is that he doesn’t have to threaten. Congress is not going to do anything about Twoscoops.
Roger Stone is the original deplorable.
Both sides are heavily armed? Uhm, one of those sides would be Trump’s fellow Nazi Klan members, the other would be the Pentagon and the 5 branches of the US Military. I think the side with the missile technology, the tanks, and the fighter jets has a slight advantage
With all respect, I don’t think those are the two sides to which Stone is referring.
If this uprising takes place in the streets, baby fists won’t call in the military until the Nazis have won.
It depends on the streets. I think the states’ governors are the ones to call in the national guard, in the case of an uprising beyond the abilities of the local law enforcement to control. Either way, it does sound as though Stone is advocating extortion to prop up a failing administration.
Baby Fists wouldn’t have any authority to call anyone as the scenario threatened would be after his ouster.
@B n A Fn – this is mindblowingly scary and horrible. Huge threats to the security of the country too with the potential to destabilize the world order. Countries like Russia or China lurking there to take control. I am horrified.
You and me my friend. The worse part of his statement was to see the anger, rage on his face while threatening violence to the people who makes the decisions on what to do with 45 is there is evidence of wrongdoing to remove him from office.
OT: please stay safe those in the path of hurricane Harvey.
Please that little pebble can just stay in Orangino’s shoe. There is still law of the land and law enforcement. If someone has to call in the Natl’ Guard to round up these Nazi’s they will. There is, after all only 30% of them vs. the rest of us. No way near Civil War proportions.
If you remember those pics from Charlottesville, those little boys don’t scare anyone. They look like a bad clothing catalog for angry white men. The police should use Orangino’s suggestion and bang those Nazi’s heads to the car while they put them there.
FBI or Secret Service should investigate Stone for threatening members of Congress.
I just realized something, Permanent Puss does not take off his jacket. It is like he has one foot out the door in any given situation. When you look at photos of POTUS in the last say, 4 decades, there is always some where POTUS has their jacket off, sleeves rolled up, tie slightly loose while at the Resolute desk ( I think the Resolute is still in there ) in the oval office. They had a ton of briefings to get through and were ready to get down.
This one right here does enough reading to keep his jacket on. I hate the people that voted him in.
He only seems to take it off when he’s on the golf course. If he always wants to wear one, you’d think he’d want it to fit right. His jackets are so big, that they look like dyed lab coats. He needs a few ties that aren’t so long that it looks like he could trip on it
People who voted him in should be embarrassed and ashamed
Wonder if he took it off in the pee tape…to avoid splash back…
Then use one of his ginormous, big as a beach towel, red ties to wipe the pee pee off after the golden shower
I think the main reason Trump keeps it on his to conceal his weight. I am taking grim satisfaction in that each time I see him he looks worse and worse. I can’t even describe the texture of his skin it just looks awful.
That’s just it, John Kelly is a die hard deplorable. I don’t understand why there is this massive campaign to depict Kelly as the adult in the WH and completely scrub history of all of the unstable and crazy things he has done this year. During a hearing on the chaotic roll-out of the Muslim Ban, John Kelly stated that he serves one man, and that is Donald Trump. A senator corrected Kelly, telling him that his duty is to us, the people, not the president. John Kelly has faithfully repeated things that the King of Lies and Fake News said on twitter, in interviews, and speeches, so we know that Kelly doesn’t have a problem with what The King of Lies and Fake News tweets or says in his speeches. John Kelly loves it when the King of Lies and Fake News attacks the press. Just remember how he egged on The King of Lies and Fake News when he told him to use the saber on the press? It’s just weird how there has been this massive rewrite of John Kelly. Who is leaking these positive articles, depicting John Kelly in a positive light? John Kelly.
I’m not buying that John Kelly is trying to keep fake news from The King of Lies and Fake News or be his filter. Miller is still the speech writer for the King of Lies and Fake News(if you are going to keep right wing information from The King of Lies and Fake News, then wouldn’t you start with what’s being put in the speeches he is reading from the teleprompter?); even though we were told that Kelly fired Bannon, Bannon is still having influence in the WH via Miller, Gorka, Gorka’s wife, Sessions, and Chris Kobach; and the King of Lies and Fake News twitter meltdowns have amplified since Kelly has been in the WH(his attacks on the GOP and Obama are even more vicious than before.
I don’t understand why people think that Kelly will quit. He is a very loyal supporter of The King of Lies and Fake News.
In April, The Boston Globe wrote an article about how unhinged John Kelly is. He told members of Congress to shut up or change the laws when they criticized the Muslim Ban. He made a speech about how “We are under attack” in which he used the same examples that the King of Lies and Fake News has stated in his speeches and interviews. Then there is his comment about law enforcement being more credible than the criminals in regards to police brutality cases.
Another article written in June goes in more depth about how Kelly coddles The King of Lies and Fake News. When The King of Lies and Fake News said that Obama wiretapped him, what did John Kelly, the “adult in the WH” do? He went right along with the lie, claiming that if The King of Lies and Fake News says that he was wiretapped by Obama, then he has a reason to say it. Why did The King of Lies and Fake News pick John Kelly? Just like the King of Lies and Fake News, John Kelly also wants a wall.
Thank you!!!! Kelly is a ghoul and should be treated accordingly.
I am interested in seeing this globe article but cant find it, do you have a link?
Thanks in advance.
I think this is it.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2017/04/25/homeland-security-john-kelly-unhinged/viy0TgjP0p54ovFHDWO8KJ/story.html
I agree with you about Kelly. He’s just as off his rocker like 45. I remember him egging on 45 to use the saber against the press, as he was sitting with 45 and talking to him under his breath but the mike picket up the statement. Those in the press pretending they don’t remember this have their own agenda just like they gave Hillary hell all through the primaries while giving 45 a pass, now they are having second thought. Some of the press really cherry pick what they want to highlight, and ignore other important news.
John Kelly is doing such a great job at keeping the King of Lies and Fake News from reading “fake news”:
“Few, if any, Administrations have done more in just 7 months than the Trump A. Bills passed, regulations killed, border, military, ISIS, SC!”-Trump
He is right, no other administration has done more than The King of Lies and Fake News in just 7 months to destabilize our country. He has incited culture wars, created mans on Transgenders, Muslims, and legal immigrants. Condoned WS.
The King of Lies and Fake News can’t keep claiming Neil G appointment to the SC as a success because they had to change the rules to get him in. I wish the press would stop telling him that this was a victory. Neil received 54 to 45 votes, but he needed 60. The threshold was then lowered to 51. That isn’t a victory.
What bills did he pass? In his first 100 days, he passed less than 30 bills and there were at least 5 other administrations that passed more bills than he did. It’s amazing how he keeps lying even after his lies have been debunked. He lies because he knows that the GOP aren’t going to hold him accountable for his lie.
He is right about one thing. Killing regulations. No other administration has worked this hard to destabilize every aspect of our country. Retirement savings. OHSA and Work place injuries logs. Internet privacy protections. Hunting. Drug testing. State education programs.Public lands. Coal mining. Firearms for the disabled. Educational accountability. The use of harmful pesticides. Dumping of waste into water. Banks. Separation of Government and Religion. Civil Rights. Transgender bathroom bill. CFPB. Dodd-Frank. Climate Change. Groups that fight against WS. Governmental Hiring freeze in the first months of office. Equal Pay. Discrimination in the workplace. Civilian deaths in war. Flood protection. Sanctuary Cities. Medication for Transgenders.
And all that “killing of regulations” can come back to bite him in court. If the statute is still in place, and since he can’t get anything through Congress, few statutes have changed, affected parties can prevail in court on many issues as it is his job to enforce or carry out statutory directives, which is done through regulations.
LA Native, I have written 4 responses to your request and for some reason they are not making it past the moderation.
Did anyone else see that John Kasich is possibly teaming up with John Hickenlooper for a 2020 run as the Unity Party? I realize his voting stance on women’s reproductive rights is bad, but I would a million times take this team over what we have now.
I heard a discussion on msnbc this morning that 45 maybe thinking of running 2020 as an independent and he believes that he can win with 35%. They were saying he does not care that’s why he’s burning bridges with reps. Don’t know, I’m thinking it all depends on who he’s running against. I remember Ross Perot who ran as independent years ago but I believe he got about 20% of the votes. Not sure, it was a long time ago and I’m lazy to go look it up.
Perot got 19 percent in 1992; around 8 when he ran again in 1996.
After preaching unity, The King of Lies and Fake News signed the Transgender ban today. So much for being presidential! So the King of Lies and Fake News used the cover of the Hurricane to foster more hate and division. So when they posted the photo of The King of Lies and Fake News getting briefed about the hurricane, what was really happening was that he was being briefed on the Transgender ban.
NK is back to launching missiles. I really wish the press would have asked if The King of Lies and Fake News had called NK when they were bragging about how he got NK to stop threatening to bomb Guam.
Let’s hope the military slams this ban in the trash where it belongs. It didn’t seem like they agreed with his decision to try to ban these innocent people.
Trump boasted to his base in Phoenix that Kim Jong Un was starting to respect us. Get real! Trump must not have read NK tweets making fun of him being such a childish loser. Trump himself was respecting Kim more than he was Republicans Flake and McCain.
It’s only been 19 missiles right? Wonderful. Another night I won’t sleep
Hoping for the best for the people and animals of southeast and Gulf Coast Texas. I cannot watch the coverage-I’ve experienced ten hurricanes in Mobile, from Camille to Katrina, and I already have a knot in my stomach. I know what you’re going through.
The King of Lies and Fake News used the Hurricane as a cover to pardon Joe A and to sign his Transgender ban. When is enough going to be enough for the GOP? Today is the day that they need to act. This country is doomed. We can’t count on the people who have the power to stop The King of Lies and Fake News to do their job because they are more concerned about what Russia has on them. So the King of Lies and Fake News is now using natural disasters to hide his misdeeds.
The press is also saying that during his speech, Tom B(the same Tom who was tricked by a person impersonating Jared), said that The King of Lies and Fake News was concerned about everyone in Texas, including the people who didn’t vote for him. A hurricane is about the ruin the lives of millions of people and the one thing on the president’s mind is whether or not those people voted for him? When does this end? To those who were praising the King of Lies and Fake News comments about the Hurricane are presidential(Philip R), what do they have to say about this?
If anyone is still on Trump’s side they are: A. Russian B. Brainwashed by Fox News C. Stupid D. Racist. I don’t want to hear any more sanctimonious articles explaining why they voted for him. I want them to explain exactly what he’s accomplished for them since taking office. “Good Luck Texas” are you kidding me?!?! While he’s on vacation???? Compare this to President Obama singing Amazing Grace after Dylan Roof. It’s like we’ve regressed a century.
Gorka has “resigned”. That leaves 4 WS still in the WH, Miller, Sessions, Gorka’s wife, and Chris Kobach. Bannon has left the WH, but he still had influence via Miller, Sessions, Gorka, Gorka’s wife, and Chris Kobach.
What the press should be asking now, is what is Gorka running from? When Ichan and Spicer resigned it was because articles about their misdeeds were coming out. We all assumed that Spicer resigned because of Scaramucci, but it was later revealed that Spicer had met with someone from FN about creating fake stories about the Russian Hacks, SR, and Hillary. So what is about to come out about Gorka?
This scumbag just pardoned sheriff Joe Arpaio. Did he do this during the deadly hurricane so people wouldn’t pay attention to his choice? Absolutely outrageous! Doing this while the country and his fellow Republicans are still angry about his forgiving white supremacy is shameful.
One bit of good news tonight is that Sebastian Gorka has finally gone. Resigned. Get the hell out Gorka, and bring Stephen frigging Miller with you!
Add Steve ‘let me and my trophy wife see if the gold is safe’ to the Friday firings, and it would be so even better.
It looks like nobody’s sticking around. Amazing how many have been fired or resigned in the past 7 months. Trump and his team will forever be historical for being the absolute most crooked, stupid, and dangerous president ever.
Steven and his trophy wife can pack all of her fancy designer clothes and leave town too