White House Chief of Staff John Kelly says he was not hired to control Trump's behavior or tweets

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly wants to make it clear that he was not brought in to “control” President Donald Trump’s behavior and that Trump’s Twitter habits do not bother him.

“It’s funny, I read in the paper, you all know, you write it, that I have been a failure at controlling the president, or a failure at controlling his tweeting,” Kelly said at a press briefing on Thursday. “I was not brought to this job to control anything but the flow of information to our president so that he can make the best decisions.”

When asked if Trump’s tweets make his job harder to do, Kelly responded, “No, no.”

Kelly, a retired Marine general and the former secretary of Homeland Security, was appointed to the position of White House Chief of Staff in July after Reince Priebus resigned. Since his appointment, he’s been the subject of a constant stream of media reports that paint Kelly as frustrated by the president’s lack of discipline and his irrepressible tweets.

Kelly said all that isn’t true — and that he’s not planning on leaving his position or about to be fired, despite the rumors of tension.

Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?

Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple of big issues with relying on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on:

First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.

Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. And we can’t do that if we have a paywall.

So even though advertising is still our biggest source of revenue, we also seek grants and reader support. (And no matter how our work is funded, we have strict guidelines on editorial independence.)

If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today? Any amount helps.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via