Friday 19 October 2018

Bolton and Kelly have stand-up row

Apparently there were so many expletives not deleted during a row between John Kelly, White House chief of staff, and John Bolton, old Cold War warrior national security adviser that nearby secretaries had to put their hands over their ears. They were arguing about immigration, with Bolton taking the Trump line that it was outrageous how many illegals were popping over the border and wanted to close the southern frontier with troops. Kelly, being a former Homeland Security Secretary and fully cognisant of the challenges of keeping control at the border, obviously thought Bolton was going over the top (he probably wishes Bolton would go over the top - over the top of the Trump border "wall" and stay in Mexico). Bolton had been rude about Kirstjen Nielsen who used to be Kelly's deputy and then took over as homeland secretary when Kelly moved to the White House. A breathless White House reporter for CNN could hardly get the story out she was so excited. She described the scene in the West Wing as ugly. To be honest, I'm not sure who would win if it came to a physical fight between Bolton and Kelly. Kelly is a retired four star US Marine Corps general and a tough cookie but Bolton is a wiry old bear who would probably target below the belt. That walrus moustache would positively bristle with venom in a bust-up. Anyway the row didn't end with fisticuffs but it was the talk of the West Wing, and therefore the talk of CNN. Trump hates CNN and probably thinks it's just another example of fake news, but even Sarah Sanders couldn't deny it happened when questioned by reporters. Kelly and Bolton are supposed to be part of the inner circle national security team in the White House who all, according to Jim Mattis, Pentagon chief, get on really well. But I bet these sort of rows are commonplace at the moment. The White House is right now full of high tension over the Khashoggi murder because no one can work out what the hell to do about it. A few expletives probably won't do any long-lasting harm.

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