The God-Emperor should be angry. If invaders are still crossing the border, then someone clearly isn’t doing his – or her – job.
President Donald Trump’s chief of staff and his national security adviser engaged in a heated argument outside the Oval Office on Thursday, according to three people familiar with the episode.
The chief of staff, John Kelly, and the national security adviser, John Bolton, fought over immigration and border crossings, including the performance of the Homeland Security Department under Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, one person familiar with the matter said. She was at the White House for meetings on Thursday, but the people disagreed about whether she witnessed the argument.
Bolton criticized DHS, and Kelly defended Nielsen, a former deputy whom he supported to replace him at the department. Two people described the exchange as less a shouting match than an intense argument. Kelly then stormed away, so upset that he uttered some profanities.
Bolton and Nielsen had a good conversation after Kelly and Bolton’s argument, a White House official said. Both believe the goal is to protect the border, the official said.
Trump has lately expressed fury about a large group of migrants who are traveling from Honduras toward the U.S. border. He vowed Thursday to deploy the military and shut down the Mexican border unless the migrants are turned back.
I don’t pretend to know the real deal. Perhaps it is kabuki to keep the mainstream media occupied. But Kelly too often comes across like a true blue Swamp creature whose primary job is to convince Trump not to follow his instincts.