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.
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