President Donald Trump fired back Thursday at his former chief of staff Gen. John Kelly, saying that he missed the “action.”
“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,” Trump tweeted. (RELATED: Burgess Owens Lays Out The Lesson America Should Have Learned From Trump’s Impeachment)
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,.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 13, 2020
Trump went on to say that Kelly had both a “military and legal obligation” to refrain from speaking out about certain issues, adding, “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!”
….which he actually has a military and legal obligation to do. 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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 13, 2020
Kelly spoke out on a number of topics, addressing everything from the testimony of LTC Alexander Vindman to President Trump’s handling of relations with Russia and North Korea.
Trump’s ex-chief of staff spoke publicly about Alexander Vindman, migrants, and North Korea, reports @PeterAtlantic: https://t.co/IcNver0aif
— Peter Nicholas (@PeterAtlantic) February 13, 2020
John Kelly said Lt. Col. Vindman is blameless and simply followed the training he’d received as a soldier; migrants are “overwhelmingly good people” and “not all rapists”; and Trump’s decision to condition aid to Ukraine upended long-standing U.S. policy. https://t.co/3UF3UdljLp
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 13, 2020
Kelly’s comments were very critical of Trump, as he suggested among other things that North Korea and Russia might be playing him.