Rumors of John Kelly stepping down as White House Chief of Staff have circulated for months, but a new report elaborates even further on his issues with Donald Trump. As tension remains in the White House, it was only a matter of time before the president spoke out.
The Fake News is going crazy making up false stories and using only unnamed sources (who don’t exist). They are totally unhinged, and the great success of this Administration is making them do and say things that even they can’t believe they are saying. Truly bad people!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 30, 2018
Trump on John Kelly
It was just last July when Donald Trump picked John Kelly to replace Reince Priebus as White House Chief of Staff in a move that many believed would help stabilize the reckless behavior coming out of the White House since Trump's inauguration in January 2017.
Despite this, a report by NBC News on April 30 revealed Kelly's feelings about the president. According to multiple sources inside the White House, Kelly said of Trump, "He’s an idiot." Kelly also warned aides inside the administration that Trump is a danger to them all, with another source even going as far as to predict that Kelly could put in his resignation at some point during the summer.
As expected, the news of John Kelly's reported criticism didn't go over well with Donald Trump who was quick to lash out with a pair of tweets on April 30. "The Fake News is going crazy making up false stories and using only unnamed sources (who don’t exist)," Trump tweeted. "They are totally unhinged," he added, before concluding that the media were "bad people"
"He doesn't even understand what DACA is. He's an idiot," John Kelly said in one meeting, according to two officials who were present. "We've got to save him from himself." https://t.co/iKbcYDPr21
— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 30, 2018
In a follow-up tweet, Donald Trump doubled down, claiming that the "White House is running very smoothly despite phony Witch Hunts." As expected, it didn't take too long before those who oppose the commander in chief decided to hit back.
Twitter reacts
Not long after Donald Trump sent out his tweets bashing the media over their report about John Kelly, the president faced instant backlash. "You? You are calling someone else unhinged?" one tweet read.
Each tweet you have about how everything is fine tells us very clearly that everything is not fine.
— Kyle (@kyleschmid_) April 30, 2018
Every day I am embarrassed that America chose you to be our president. You are a disgrace to the office. We deserve better.
— Milquetoast (@BlueRobotDesign) April 30, 2018
You're exhausting, try staying quiet for 1 day, can you do that for us? Thank you!
— Hefe (@Jefftones83) April 30, 2018
"Are you calling yourself the Fake News now or is this just pure projection?" a Twitter user wrote.
"The only one that is 'unhinged' is YOU!" another tweet added. "You love screaming FAKE NEWS don't you? Tell us something... Didn't you say Obama wiretapped you? Didn't you suddenly say that wasn't you on that access Hollywood recording? YOU are the definition of what's fake. You're a liar & a fraud," an additional tweet stated.
You love screaming FAKE NEWS don't you? Tell us something... Didn't you say Obama wiretapped you? Didn't you suddenly say that wasn't you on that access Hollywood recording? YOU are the definition of what's fake. You're a liar & a fraud
— Together we rise 🌊 (@Matsamon) April 30, 2018
The only one that is "unhinged" is YOU!
— Carol Briers (@csbriers) April 30, 2018
Are you calling yourself the Fake News now or is this just pure projection?
— Josh A (@JoshEAllen) April 30, 2018
"Every day I am embarrassed that America chose you to be our president. You are a disgrace to the office. We deserve better," a social media user wrote. "Each tweet you have about how everything is fine tells us very clearly that everything is not fine," a follow-up tweet stated.
