The Thin Skin of John Kelly
By Fred Kaplan
The chief of staff’s military background has helped him impose order on a chaotic White House. But his aversion to criticism from civilians makes him ill-suited for democratic politics.
OCT. 26, 2017 COVER STORY
A week has passed since White House chief of staff John Kelly’s disastrous press conference, where he made excuses for his insensitive boss, insulted a congresswoman, lied about her record, and capped off the event by heaving contempt on Americans who haven’t served in the armed forces. And so another erstwhile figure of respect—a retired four-star Marine general touted as one of the “grown-ups” who have kept our mercurial president from plunging the country into chaos—was dragged into the Trumpland swamp. But in Kelly’s case, it didn’t take much dragging to get him there.
Kelly has done some commendable things on the job since succeeding the hapless Reince Priebus in late July. He managed to oust Steve Bannon and his white-nationalist sidekick, Sebastian Gorka, from the White House. He provided cover for National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster to rid the National Security Council staff of a few junior ideologues left over from the brief reign of Michael Flynn. He has blocked Trump from meeting with superhawk John Bolton, a former (and perhaps future) senior official wannabe. For these deeds alone, Kelly deserves the thanks of a bedraggled nation.
So how to explain his recent lapse? Or was it a lapse? It may be useful to recall the six months before Kelly came to the White House, when he served as Trump’s secretary of homeland security. It was a job for which he seemed ideally suited, having just served for four years as head of U.S. Southern Command, which deals with border security, counternarcotics, and counterterrorism He sailed through his Senate confirmation hearings with trumpets blaring. Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, for whom Kelly had served as senior military adviser, introduced him to the committee as “a man of great moral authority” that he’d trust with his life. Under questioning, the nominee pledged to speak “truth to power” and disagreed with several of Trump’s high-profile positions. A wall on the Mexican border, he said, would not protect us from drug traffickers. Most illegal immigrants come here not to rape and kill (as Trump had charged during the campaign) but for “economic opportunity and to escape violence.” Asked about the idea of detaining them without trial, he replied, “I’m pretty committed to the Constitution.”
Yet, once installed in power, Kelly enforced Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants—including children who had spent nearly all their lives in America—with unusual gusto. When members of Congress criticized his department for its intensity, Kelly snapped back. “If lawmakers do not like the laws they’ve passed and we are charged to enforce, then they should have the courage and skill to change the laws,” he said in a speech at George Washington University in April. “Otherwise they should shut up and support the men and women on the frontlines.”
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https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2017/10/john-kellys-dangerous-aversion-to-criticism-from-civilians.html
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