Chief of Staff John Kelly: “The last thing I wanted to do was walk away from one of the great honors of my life, being the secretary of Homeland Security, but I did something wrong and God punished me, I guess.” pic.twitter.com/RfFWCIENXF
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 1, 2018
President Trump has somehow — with the surprise exit of Hope Hicks — blown through four White House comms directors in about one year. So, it’s almost remarkable to consider that Trump’s still hanging with his second chief of staff, John Kelly, although there have been reports that Kelly considered resigning over both the Rob Porter scandal and rumored friction with Trump. However, Kelly sort-of put those rumors to rest if one considers joking about them to be a statement in and of itself.
In the above ABC News video, Kelly speaks at an event to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Department of Homeland Security (for which he served as a director for the first five months of Trump’s presidency). The decorated military general expressed mock (?) regret at leaving this post:
“The last thing I wanted to do was walk away from one of the great honors of my life, being the secretary of Homeland Security, but I did something wrong and God punished me, I guess.”
Kelly’s probably trolling people who are already waiting to see the next Trump administration exit, but one never knows. With Trump’s very public needling of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, many assumed he’d leave long before Hicks, who was considered to be so loyal to Trump that she’d never stray. Yet clearly, there’s one thing that can be predicted about Trump’s inner circle — and that’s its unpredictable and volatile nature. Would Kelly quit? Sure, but he seems to be sticking around for now.
(Via ABC News)