Kelly leaps to Mission Impossible role
Brooms out ‘Mooch,’ but could land in quicksand
The saving of America, day one, began at 9:30 a.m. Monday in the Oval Office.
Retired four-star Marine General John Kelly, just six months into his first postmilitary tour of duty, relinquished his Homeland Security secretary title, raised his right hand and was officially sworn into his new job as President Donald Trump’s chief of staff.
It was a compact ceremony, witnessed by a handful of attendees who included a glum-faced Anthony Scaramucci, who seemed nothing like his famously swaggering self. Trump’s hand-picked, brand-new communications director had just spent the weekend making himself Team Trump’s most famously outspoken (see also: famously obscene) newsmaker. Now Scaramucci was un-ceremonially sandwiched between journalists holding boom mics and so busy they were actually ignoring him. But not for long.
Just hours later, Scaramucci was huge news again. Suddenly, the man known on Wall Street as “The Mooch,” was back on the street — fired.
Gen. Kelly had quickly captured the high ground — and those who have long known and admired Kelly instantly understood why. Surely Scaramucci’s foul-mouthed, judgment-impaired self-promoting ways would violate everything Kelly has stood for and everything he needs to impose order in the West Wing.
Those who know Kelly well understand why he turned down Trump’s earlier efforts to get him to accept this top White House job. They know Kelly disapproved of things Trump had done. It was more than just the crude things. When Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, Kelly reportedly considered resigning.
Kelly’s admirers are convinced he now took the job because America and the world have plunged into heightened volatility. North Korea poses a genuine nuclear threat. Russia has recycled its Cold War hostilities. The Republican Congress has gridlocked itself. Kelly concluded he couldn’t turn his back on his country now.
Yet in his first week on the job, Trump’s top general has witnessed some problematic things that may be beyond his ability to resolve.
For instance, Trump lies. He lies about things large and small, as if he cannot help himself. This week, Kelly learned from media reports that it was Trump who insisted his son Donald Jr. reject transparency and issue his initially deceptive description of his transition meeting in Trump Tower with a governmentlinked Russian lawyer. So Donald Jr.’s first report omitted saying he’d been promised he’d get Russian government material damaging to Democratic 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. And he conveniently didn’t mention Trump’s sonin-law and ca m pa ig n manager attending the meeting. Also this week, Kelly discovered that spokespeople for both Mexico’s president and the head of America’s Boy Scouts were separately denying Trump’s boasts that both men had phoned Trump to praise him. Trump had said Mexico’s president praised him for reducing Mexican immigration; and that the Scouts’ head praised his speech as great. Spokespeople for both said there were no phone calls at all. The Scouts organization actually apologized because Trump’s talk was improperly political — something presidents have never done.
Kelly may also have a better understanding that his greatest future problem may stem from a concern he has tried not to dwell on — but which may plunge the president into a future crisis: The general who spent his last six months securing America’s homeland knows his commander in chief remains unwilling to admit Russia launched cyberattacks on America’s homeland in 2016 — and that U.S. intelligence chiefs agree President Vladimir Putin gave the order. Yet Trump still sometimes voices doubts that Putin or Russia were behind the campaign leaks of stolen emails in a bid to help Trump defeat Clinton. (I’m convinced Trump would have won without Russia’s help; but unlike Trump, I accept the conclusions of the CIA, NSA, FBI and national intelligence director.)
Having captured the high ground, the general may find himself surrounded by quicksand. Kelly may soon realize his biggest problem may begin with the reason behind Trump’s sleepless, reckless 4 a.m. tweeting. Trump is making himself appear obsessed with the possibility that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe may extend into decades of investments by Russian oligarchs into Trump real estate ventures. It could lead to questions of possible conflicts of interest and perhaps the laundering of money from questionable Russian sources.
Kelly may soon wonder if his decision to fulfill his patriotic duty to his country has landed him a leading role in Mission Impossible.