Outgoing John Kelly defends Trump but not on border wall

Chief of Staff John Kelly will soon be leaving the White House and he gave his opinions about the president to "reporters/"

In an interview with the left leaning LA Times, Kelly told reporters that the President routinely consults multiple sources of information before making a decision, even if it often seems like Trump acts without regard for consequences, which is something the LA Times reporters didn't want to hear.

But while the outgoing White House Chief of Staff took aim at the president's border wall in his "exit interview" with the newspaper, he still defended Trump, countering empty claims by the media that the president often acts without knowing the consequences of his decisions. The media seems to make that stuff up as they go along in their hatred for Trump.

"It’s never been: The president just wants to make a decision based on no knowledge and ignorance,” Kelly said. “You may not like his decision, but at least he was fully informed on the impact.”

Kelly, however, took credit for whipping the White House into shape and imposing a sense of order on the Trump Administration's central organizational hub.  Kelly said that this was clearly missing when he first entered the job in 2017.

He added that he feels his tenure was successful because he helped the President view his actions through a lens that wasn't tainted by politics, a benefit, Kelly says, of his own military training.

Kelly also defended the President from claims that he's uncontrollable, because the President still Tweets, even amid political strife. Again, this pissed of the interviewer who was hoping Kelly would be angrier at Trump and say things that would berate him.

Being an honest broker, Kelly wasn't willing to defend every action of the Trump White House. He was critical of Trump's signature anti-illegal immigration effort, the border wall -- his biggest campaign promise and an issue currently at the forefront of national politics. It is also at the crux of Trump's current budget stalemate with Congress.

“To be honest, it’s not a wall,” Kelly told the LA Times, upending an ongoing talking point from the White House that billions are needed to construct a massive, physical wall on the border between the United States and Mexico.

“The president still says ‘wall’ — oftentimes frankly he’ll say ‘barrier’ or ‘fencing,’ now he’s tended toward steel slats. But we left a solid concrete wall early on in the administration, when we asked people what they needed and where they needed it," Kelly continued.

Members of the media, rubbing their hands together like witches around a cauldron, were quick to pounce on Kelly's comments, taking them as critical of the Administration's plan.

Bwah-ha-ha!

“To be honest, it’s not a wall,” John Kelly told the LA Times in an interview. The last time Kelly went on Fox and said the president was “uninformed” on the wall during the campaign, Trump shouted at him so loudly it could be heard outside Oval. This time, Kelly is out.— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) December 30, 2018

"To be honest, it's not a wall," John Kelly tells the LA Times. "The president still says 'wall' — oftentimes frankly he'll say 'barrier' or 'fencing,' now he's tended toward steel slats. But we left a solid concrete wall early on in the administration." https://t.co/rMxBqfKDPp— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 30, 2018

But Kelly's assessment of the "wall" isn't nearly as critical as the left-leaning media, particularly on social media, might have readers believe.

In fact, Kelly is clear that the White House -- particularly the Department of Homeland Security -- worked directly with members of the Customs and Border Protection force, to determine what the best design for a so-called "border wall" might be.

"When Kelly led Homeland Security in early 2017, one of his first steps was to seek advice from those who 'actually secure the border,; Customs and Border Protection agents who Kelly calls 'salt-of-the-earth, Joe-Six-Pack folks,' the LA Times reports.

“They said, ‘Well we need a physical barrier in certain places, we need technology across the board, and we need more people,’” he added.

The White House is still in the midst of a battle over funding for the border wall, which is expected to pick up Wednesday, when Congress returns to Washington, D.C. after their holiday. By then, Kelly will be gone.

He is due to depart from his position as Chief of Staff the same day, and I, for one, will miss him.

I hope you have a great New Years, my fellow conservatives. At this time of year when everyone has a hand out for a hand-out, I don't. I simply want you to follow Brain Flushings and check out the ads on this page. It's free, I'm free and you're free to follow me or not. I hope you do.



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