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Outgoing White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly defends his rocky tenure
LA Times ^ | Dec. 30, 2018 | MOLLY O'TOOLE

Posted on 12/30/2018 5:36:31 AM PST by Eddie01

[snip]

...he presided over some of the Trump administration’s most controversial immigration and security policies.

In the phone interview Friday, Kelly defended his rocky tenure, arguing that it is best measured by what the president did not do when Kelly was at his side.

It was only after Kelly’s departure was confirmed Dec. 8, for example, that Trump abruptly announced the pullout of all U.S. troops from Syria and half the 14,000 troops from Afghanistan, two moves that Kelly had opposed.

Kelly’s supporters say he stepped in to block or divert the president on dozens of matters large and small. They credit him, in part, for persuading Trump not to pull U.S. forces out of South Korea, or withdraw from NATO, as he had threatened.

[snip]

“It’s never been: The president just wants to make a decision based on no knowledge and ignorance,” Kelly said. “You may not like his decision, but at least he was fully informed on the impact.”

Kelly allowed that spending nearly every waking minute of 15-hour days with a president seemingly inundated with one crisis after another has been a “bone-crushing hard job, but you do it.”

“I’m guarded by the Secret Service. I can’t even go get a beer,” he quipped.

Trump sometimes pressed his advisors on the limits of his authority under the law, often asking Kelly, “‘Why can’t we do it this way?’”

But Trump never ordered him to do anything illegal, Kelly stressed, “because we wouldn’t have.”

“If he had said to me, ‘Do it, or you’re fired,’” Kelly said he would have resigned.

“I told the president the last thing in my view that you need in the chief of staff is someone that looks at every issue through a political lens,” Kelly said.

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: coskelly; coskellyresigns; deepstate; didntwantwall; garbage; johnkelly; kelly; lowlife; marinesactivated; nevertrumpers; nobordersecurity; nowall; openborders; trump; trusttheplan
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To: SueRae

His comments speak for the self.

Absolute betrayal of the President. Disgraceful.


61 posted on 12/30/2018 10:55:36 AM PST by UKrepublican
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To: UKrepublican

Enough of this horsepucky “thank you for your service to this country.” Anyone who has served in the military knows that the vast majority of officers are utter fups.


62 posted on 12/30/2018 10:57:57 AM PST by Bookshelf
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To: jjotto

He was correct almost 100 years ago now, however, he probably could not even imagine what we see now. At least back in that day there were still some good journalists, and the really bad ones were weeded out by real editors. 8>)


63 posted on 12/30/2018 11:03:18 AM PST by Robert DeLong
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To: Eddie01

“Kelly defended his rocky tenure, arguing that it is best measured by what the president did not do when Kelly was at his side.”

General Kelly, I humbly tell you to go Eff yourself.


64 posted on 12/30/2018 11:10:17 AM PST by ConservativeMind (Trump: Befuddling Democrats, Republicans, and the Media for the benefit of the US and all mankind.)
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To: Eddie01

I disagree. The Demon Rat party will gripe NO MATTER what Trump does. They hate Kelly almost as much as Trump.


65 posted on 12/30/2018 11:23:26 AM PST by SoFloFreeper
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To: HChampagne

Anyone who has served will tell you that in the main, an officer who makes it past O-5 is probably, in all certainty a piece of shiite.


66 posted on 12/30/2018 11:50:42 AM PST by DariusBane (Liberty and Risk. Flip sides of the same coin. So how much risk will YOU accept? Vive Deo et Vives)
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To: SueRae

It will be interesting to see if Kelly responds/fights back.

That will tell the tale.


67 posted on 12/30/2018 12:20:19 PM PST by Eddie01
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To: Eddie01

Fights back against what? His own words?


68 posted on 12/30/2018 12:23:38 PM PST by proust (Justice delayed is injustice.)
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To: KnightCrusader

“Not one of you would say what you are saying to his face.”

I will. And losing his son doesn’t give him a magic shield that prevents justified analysis of him. If he told a newspaper he is most proud of what he talked Trump out of, he’s no good.
He’s gone asiatic in wanting to stay in Syria and Afghanistan, and he learned the wrong lessons from his sons death. He thinks by staying it will mean it wasn’t a waste of his life.

Id say it to his face.


69 posted on 12/30/2018 12:59:19 PM PST by DesertRhino (Dog is man's best friend, and moslems hate dogs. Add that up. ....)
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To: Robert DeLong

“Where has journalism gone to? It began disappearing the 70s, by the mid 90s it had completely disappeared.”

A preordained fate when the CIA launched operation Mockingbird and had journalists working for them all through the industry. At this point, we essentially have a government media (deep state nwo globalist) that operates in near lockstep with the global bankers and the intel community.


70 posted on 12/30/2018 1:12:29 PM PST by DesertRhino (Dog is man's best friend, and moslems hate dogs. Add that up. ....)
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To: Eddie01

>>two moves that Kelly had opposed.
**********************************
Good thing we voted for POTUS, NOT Kelly!


71 posted on 12/30/2018 1:13:47 PM PST by Kalamata (How to interpret The Revelation: http://bibleresearchtools.com/bible-study-video-series/)
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To: Eddie01

I wonder... do folks think he’d give Hillary any “you can’t do that” speeches? And blow whistles if she did anyway?


72 posted on 12/30/2018 1:25:16 PM PST by BradyLS (DO NOT FEED THE BEARS!)
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Comment #73 Removed by Moderator

To: newfreep

Source for your assertion that Sundance supported HRC in 2008? Not being confrontational, but this is surprising to me, if true.


74 posted on 12/30/2018 2:21:27 PM PST by pghoilman (Earth First. We'll drill the rest of the galaxy later.)
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To: mindburglar

“These Generals are a bunch of pussies.”

during Obamatard’s tenure, he made sure to purge 150 generals who were conservative. We are left with ..lefty generals like Mattis who failed in most of his work.


75 posted on 12/30/2018 2:48:36 PM PST by max americana (Happily Fired every stupid liberal at every election since 08' at work. I hope all liberals die.)
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To: Eddie01

Bookmark.


76 posted on 12/30/2018 3:14:42 PM PST by NetAddicted (Just looking)
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To: Eddie01

What a disaster. I’m amazed at the number of insubordinate backstabbers in the Trump admin. The republican party as a whole has been disgraceful. Right when the country needed some patriots. It makes me sick.

It’s like nobody really knows that America is at the point of no return.


77 posted on 12/30/2018 3:52:52 PM PST by Electric Graffiti (Cocked, locked and ready to ROCK!)
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To: newfreep

ALL news, to me.

Do you have any links to those claims?


78 posted on 12/30/2018 3:58:25 PM PST by Jane Long (Praise God, from whom ALL blessings flow.)
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To: DesertRhino

Both of you make good points. I believe the separation between these warhawks and Trump is that Trump just might be directed by the Holy God almighty to save America and we have a different destiny now with Trump at the helm.. and the old guard just aint gettin’ the message.

Remember when president Trump said ‘.. we(AMERICA) have a special destiny.. and he is just a messenger’

That was real talk right there.. and shook the globalist demons out of their lairs.


79 posted on 12/30/2018 6:15:31 PM PST by Rebel Egg
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To: newfreep

Snowflake yourself!


80 posted on 12/30/2018 6:27:28 PM PST by Guenevere
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