Gen. John Kelly Defends Ltc. Vindman

[Shabibilicious]

News

Ex-Trump Chief of Staff John Kelly defends Alexander Vindman and the media

William Westhoven, Morristown Daily Record

,

USA TODAY•February 13, 2020

 

MORRISTOWN, New Jersey – For more than an hour, retired Gen. John Kelly avoided the elephant in the room, focusing on the "Governance Versus Politics" topic promised during his speaking appearance Wednesday at the Mayo Performing Arts Center. 

But after admitting he clashed on several issues with President Donald Trump during his tumultuous term as his chief of staff, Kelly finally addressed repeated questions from the audience about the difficulties he encountered in the West Wing.

"I'm disappointed in myself for leaving, but it was a killer, I mean, no joke," Kelly said about serving Trump, starting as Secretary of Homeland Security before replacing Reince Priebus as White House chief of staff in June 2017.

Like many key West Wing staffers, however, Kelly eventually left his position at the end of 2018 amid reports he had fallen out of favor with Trump.

In Morristown, Kelly spoke for 45 minutes as a featured speaker in the Drew University Forum lecture series, followed by a 30-minute audience Q&A.

 

Several groups gather across the street from the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown to protest a speaking appearance that night by Former President Donald Trump Chief of Staff Gen. John Kelly. Feb. 12, 2020

Kelly identified a few key issues where he clashed with Trump, including the Muslim immigration ban and the president's repeated characterization of the media as "the enemy of the state."

"The media, in my view, and I feel very strongly about this, is not the enemy of the people," he said. "We need a free media. That said, you have to be careful about what you are watching and reading, because the media has taken sides. So if you only watch Fox News, because it's reinforcing what you believe, you are not an informed citizen."

 

Kelly also defended Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the National Security Council aide who testified in the House impeachment inquiry into allegations that Trump used military assistance to pressure Ukraine into opening investigations for his political benefit. Vindman was fired from his NSC post days after Trump was acquitted by the Senate on two articles of impeachment stemming from the inquiry. 

The president's former chief of staff said Vindman "did exactly what we teach them to do from cradle to grave," by reporting his concerns about a phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, The Atlantic reported. 

"We teach them, 'Don’t follow an illegal order. And if you’re ever given one, you’ll raise it to whoever gives it to you that this is an illegal order, and then tell your boss,'" Kelly said, according to The Atlantic.

 

Gen. John Kelly, former chief of staff to President Donald Trump, takes questions from the audience during a speaking engagement at the Mayor Performing Arts Center in Morristown. Feb. 12, 2020

The Q&A session included an extended confrontation about separating immigrant families on the U.S. southern border with Karol Ruiz, an attorney and co-president of Wind of the Spirit, a Morristown nonprofit immigrant resource center.

Other Wind of the Spirit members joined several other groups outside the theater to protest Kelly's appearance, including divinity students from the Drew University Theological School.

Inside, Kelly was twice interrupted by protesters who stood up and shouted, "Hey Kelly, separating families is inhumane." Both were removed by security.

 

https://news.yahoo.com/ex-trump-chief-staff-john-123631769.html

 

GO RV, then BV

 

 

[bostonangler]

Who would have ever guessed he was part of the Deep State???

 

B/A

[Shabibilicious]

Doesn't take a genius to know between Gen. Kelly and DJT who understands military awareness, ethical standards better.  

 

GO RV, then BV

[caddieman]

50 minutes ago, Shabibilicious said:

Doesn't take a genius to know between Gen. Kelly and DJT who understands military awareness, ethical standards better.  

 

GO RV, then BV

It doesn’t matter now Shabs. Since Kelly has now gone against Trump in the radical Right he he now a trader to his country despite his stellar Military career. You go against trump you are now a Left wing Trump hate monger. Just wait and see.

[Shabibilicious]

20 minutes ago, caddieman said:

It doesn’t matter now Shabs. Since Kelly has now gone against Trump in the radical Right he he now a trader to his country despite his stellar Military career. You go against trump you are now a Left wing Trump hate monger. Just wait and see.

 

Fear will do that to people, even those who claim to be ethical and above the fray.

 

GO RV, then BV

[Shabibilicious]

Trump lashes out at John Kelly after unprecedented comments against president

February 13, 2020, 11:34 AM EST

 

 

Donald Trump and John Kelly, the retired Marine general whom he fired as White House chief of staff, have finally gone to war.
"When I terminated John Kelly, which I couldn't do fast enough, he knew full well that he was way over his head. Being Chief of Staff just wasn't for him. He came in with a bang, went out with a whimper, but like so many X's, he misses the action & just can't keep his mouth shut," he wrote, making clear he demands and expects silence from aides whom he sometimes presses to sign non-disclosure agreements.
The president's tweet came after Mr Kelly on Wednesday night offered his most blunt and candid comments since being ousted about his former boss. Mr Kelly described Mr Trump as naive about North Korea and tried to distance himself from the president's hardline immigration policies.
Mr Kelly used an appearance at a New Jersey college to call the president's request that Ukraine's leader "do us a favour though" by investigating top Democrats after discussing an American military aid package "an illegal order" to the US national security apparatus.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-lashes-john-kelly-unprecedented-163400040.html

 

Bone spurs appear to be flaring up.  

 

GO RV, then BV

[bostonangler]

Holy crap he is such blovial munchkin.

 

B/A

Edited February 13, 2020 by bostonangler

[bostonangler]

Wow is LDG on?... I'm getting rubied at an amazing pace.

 

B/A

Edited February 13, 2020 by bostonangler

[Shabibilicious]

Politics

Trump slams former chief of staff John Kelly for criticizing him and drags Kelly's wife into their feud

insider@insider.com (Eliza Relman)

Business InsiderFebruary 13, 2020, 11:31 AM EST

 

 

John Kelly and Donald Trump.

Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images

• President Donald Trump lashed out at his former chief of staff, John Kelly, after news broke that Kelly criticized the president's handling of a range of issues, from impeachment to the media.

• "When I terminated John Kelly, which I couldn't do fast enough, he knew full well that he was way over his head. Being Chief of Staff just wasn't for him," Trump tweeted on Thursday morning.

• Trump added that Kelly "went out with a whimper" and "just can't keep his mouth shut," and he accused Kelly's wife of promising that her husband would "only speak well" of Trump. 

• Kelly, a retired military general, has repeatedly criticized the president in recent weeks. On Wednesday night he defended impeachment witness Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman against Trump's attacks.

• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

President Donald Trump lashed out at his former chief of staff, John Kelly, in a series of tweets on Thursday after news broke that Kelly criticized the president's handling of a range of issues, from impeachment to the media.

"When I terminated John Kelly, which I couldn't do fast enough, he knew full well that he was way over his head. Being Chief of Staff just wasn't for him," Trump tweeted on Thursday morning. "He came in with a bang, went out with a whimper, but like so many X's, he misses the action & just can't keep his mouth shut, which he actually has a military and legal obligation to do."

Trump accused Kelly's wife, Karen Hernest, of promising that her husband would "only speak well" of Trump after he left the White House in December 2018. 

"His incredible wife, Karen, who I have a lot of respect for, once pulled me aside & said strongly that 'John respects you greatly. When we are no longer here, he will only speak well of you.' Wrong!" Trump tweeted. 

Donald J. Trump

 

✔@realDonaldTrump

 

 

When I terminated John Kelly, which I couldn’t do fast enough, he knew full well that he was way over his head. Being Chief of Staff just wasn’t for him. He came in with a bang, went out with a whimper, but like so many X’s, he misses the action & just can’t keep his mouth shut,.

 

11:04 AM - Feb 13, 2020

 

 

 

Kelly, a retired military general, has repeatedly criticized the president in recent weeks and on Wednesday night he said impeachment witness Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman "did exactly what we teach them to do" when he reported Trump's "illegal" pressure campaign on Ukraine. 

"We teach them: Don't follow an illegal order," Kelly said. "And if you're ever given one, you'll raise it to whoever gives it to you that this is an illegal order, and then tell your boss."

Kelly also took issue with Trump's pardon last year of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher, who was tried and ultimately acquitted for war crimes and whose demotion Trump reversed.

Kelly said Gallagher, who Trump has lavishly praised, "was not a guy who represents our military in any way, shape or form."

"The military legal justice system worked; he was found guilty of certain things. He should have been ashamed of himself, and he should have been sent home," Kelly said. "So the idea that the commander in chief intervened there, in my opinion, was exactly the wrong thing to do."

The retired general also went after the president's favorite outlet, Fox News, arguing the network is politically biased. 

"The media, in my view, and I feel very strongly about this, is not the enemy of the people," he said, according to Morristown Daily Record. "We need a free media. That said, you have to be careful about what you are watching and reading, because the media has taken sides. So if you only watch Fox News, because it's reinforcing what you believe, you are not an informed citizen."

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham called Kelly's remarks "disingenuous" and said she was "disappointed" with him during a Fox News interview on Thursday. 

"I was in the room with him when he actually backed the president on many of the things he's now saying weren't great," Grisham said. "I thought it was a little disingenuous."

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-slams-former-chief-staff-163123214.html

 

GO RV, then BV

[Shabibilicious]

Politics

Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly to Fox News Viewer: ‘You Are Not an Informed Citizen’

 

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/former-white-house-chief-staff-164143306.html

 

GO RV, then BV

[coorslite21]

Congrats......you 3 have your own personalized thread...you must all have that Trump derangement syndrome thingy!.......carry on !