TWH Chief-of-Staff Astounded By Misreporting

White House chief of staff John Kelly attended the daily press briefing on Thursday, and over the course of 20 minutes of questions, the retired Marine general offered a master class in how to win friends and influence countries.

According to CNBC, Kelly openly disagreed with Republican lawmakers without insulting them, he chided the press for what he called "inaccurate" stories without alienating or singling out specific reporters, and he addressed a number of major foreign policy challenges without tearing up delicate alliances.

As Trump struggles to move beyond a series of seemingly self-inflicted political headaches, Kelly's performance at the lectern Thursday offered a different example of how Trump might approach U.S. allies, members of Congress and even the news media, and potentially advance his agenda.

Asked about Trump's recent tweets about border policy, in which the president claimed that Democrats "don't care about safety for U.S.A." Kelly began his answer by saying, "I believe that honest men and women can disagree on anything politically or otherwise.

"There are certainly people in our country that have the opinion that open borders or near-open borders are fine; people should be able to come and go. There are others, myself included -- you can bet the president -- but I think the majority of Americans, feel as though security on the borders is important. Now, how you achieve that is a different story."

Kelly also fielded questions about two of Trump's recent targets in Congress, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

But while Kelly clearly had no bone to pick with members of Congress on Thursday, there was one frustration he wanted White House reporters to know about.


White House Chief of Staff John Kelly: I don't think I'm being fired from CNBC.


"My only frustration, with all due respect to everyone in the room, is when I come to work in the morning and read about things I allegedly said, or things that Mr. Trump allegedly said, or people who are going to be fired, or whatever you all think. And it's just not true."

But while Trump in recent days has repeatedly threatened to "revoke" the broadcasting licenses of news organizations, including NBC, and said it's "frankly disgusting, the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write," Kelly took a different tack.

"When I watch TV in the morning, it is astounding to me how much is misreported," Kelly told the reporters in the White House briefing room. "I will give you the benefit of the doubt that you are operating off of contacts, leaks, whatever you call them. But I would just offer to you the advice: I would say maybe develop some better sources. Some person that works way down inside an office, or -- well, just develop some better sources," he said.