What do you think White House Chief of Staff Gen. John Kelly is doing in this picture?
What about here?
A) He just got word Robert Mueller might subpoena him.
B) He has indigestion.
C) He just remembered he didn’t get his wife anything for their anniversary.
D) Donald Trump just threatened to “totally destroy North Korea” and use military force against Iran and Venezuela.
If you said “D,” you’re probably right.
The above images have been going viral since President Donald Trump’s debut at the United Nations general assembly yesterday at which Trump said about North Korea:
“The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea. It is time for North Korea to realize that its denuclearization is its only responsible future.”
Trump then engaged in a little ad hominem fallacy by saying about North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un:
“Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself.”
He then shifted his focus to Iran, asserting:
“The Iran deal was one of the worst and most one-sided transactions. That deal is embarrassment to the US and I don’t think you’ve heard the last of it, believe me.”
Finally, after proposing military action against Venezuela last month, Trump said at the U.N.:
“[Venezuelan president] Maduro has defied his own people, stealing power from his elected representatives to preserve his disastrous rule, regain their freedom and recover their country and restore their democracy.”
None other than Fox and Friends inquired about Gen. Kelly’s obvious discomfort this morning in an interview with White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Host Brian Kilmeade sought an explanation for what many are reporting as yet another sign of Kelly’s chagrin over the president’s frequent erratic behavior.
He said:
“He seems to be with the president all the time. And he’s either holding his head or showing exasperation or staring at the ground. And people are looking at those photos and saying he’s unhappy with the president.”
Sanders replied:
“I would certainly not read anything into that picture. Just like the rest of us, we’re tired trying to keep up with this president who is working hard every day to help America.”
Very telling response: “We’re tired trying to keep up with this president.”
Bustle reports:
“For a man [Kelly] who spent more than 30 years serving in the armed forces, and is now charged with keeping the ever-chaotic Trump administration from derailing, it’s not hard to see why the president’s vehement, hostility-stoked speech might have been poorly received.”
Who knows? Maybe options A through C are more plausible.
But in a tweet Wednesday from @RogueSNRadvisor (Rogue WH Snr Advisor), one of a series of unofficial twitter accounts belonging to government agencies:
“Kelly screamed at Trump after UNGA speech – not the first time that’s happened, either. About 2-3 mins of yelling behind closed doors.”
Kelly’s frustration with Trump is not new.
The Chicago Tribune, for example published a piece in August, shortly after Kelly replaced Reince Priebus, titled “New chief of staff John Kelly said to be frustrated, dismayed at Trump’s lack of discipline.”
The Washington Post ran a similar piece titled “Trump’s lack of discipline leaves new chief of staff frustrated and dismayed.”
Perhaps Gen. Kelly just forgot something on Air Force One.
Or maybe he’s realized we’ve all made a terrible mistake allowing Donald Trump on it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCxudyAbW9s
Image credit: @Kyle_Feldscher via Twitter
