Are You Leaving, or Not? Trump Pulls Back the Reins on One Exit Story

I told you earlier of rumors that White House Chief of Staff John Kelly may be following National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster out the door.

The latest is that President Trump is telling aides that Kelly’s job is safe.

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The Wall Street Journal reported  Friday that Trump and Kelly met Thursday, where they patched up a rift that emerged earlier this week when the president abruptly fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a tweet.

Kelly was reportedly taken aback by Trump’s treatment of Tillerson, and aides worried that he would push the issue with the president, the Journal reported.

Some are pointing out that while Trump and Kelly are said to have occasional clashes, that  Trump has confidence in the job Kelly is doing, and has no desire to get rid of him, in spite of reports to the contrary.

Speaking to a group of Marines in San Diego, CA this week, Trump mentioned John Kelly.

“He likes what you do better than what he does,” Trump said. “But he’s doing a great job. He misses you.”

And that may very well be what Trump is telling everybody around him – that Kelly’s job is safe and he has no intention of replacing him.

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That being said, the rumor wasn’t that John Kelly was about to be fired. The rumor was that John Kelly was at the end of his patience, basically, and that he would be choosing to leave on his own.

He’s working for a man who thrives on creating chaos and division. He’s working for a man who just told a group of donors that not only does he not know the basics of his job, but that he lies to allies about it, and is willing to betray allies, based on the made-up facts rambling around in his best brain.

With that in mind, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to imagine Kelly throwing up his hands and getting out with his dignity intact.

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