General John Kelly slipped out of the White House front door

Generals don't normally like to retreat unless it's a strategic or tactical retreat. But General John Kelly, for 17 months Trump's White House chief of staff, had no alternative but to retreat into the background in his last days in the post and then, without any fanfare or farewell party, slip away into obscurity. The incoming acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, followed Kelly around wherever he went to watch him perform his duties and then just took over Kelly's office. Again without fanfare. When generals give up command of an operation, such as in Afghanistan or Europe or Central Command, there is always a big ceremony. The defence secretary turns up, sometimes even the president, and there are a lot of speeches and hugs and flags and bands and respect. Kelly had his share of such ceremonies when he was a four-star Marine Corps general but not this time. Did Trump shake his hand and give him a fond farewell and thank him for all his hard work? I doubt it. Kelly said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times that the work of a White House chief of staff was bone-crushing. Especially with a boss like Trump, although he didn't say that. He said he was up every day at 4am and never got home before 9pm, and even then there was still work to do. He has some serious sleep-ins ahead of him. But it is sad that he has left the White House without any form of ceremony. I know that's politics for you. But eventually Trump will realise that Kelly did him a great service by making his life more ordered. With Mulvaney in charge, Trump will be given more leeway to do what he wants and that could lead to more, not less, chaos. Kelly meanwhile will get some home life and catch up with his family. Perhaps he'll have a drink with Jim Mattis and they can compare notes on their time with Commander-in-Chief Trump. Kelly left the White House on January 2. Mattis left his job at the Pentagon at midnight on December 31. They have much to talk about. So farewell Trump's generals, enjoy your new-found leisure time.