Kelly cracks down on West Wing back channels to Trump

[highplainsdem]

Source: Politico

When new White House chief of staff John Kelly huddled with senior staff on his first day at work, he outlined a key problem in President Donald Trump’s White House that he planned to fix: Bad information getting into the president’s hands.

Kelly told the staff that information needed to flow through him — whether on paper or in briefings — because the president would make better decisions if given good information.

-snip-

Since starting this week, Kelly has told aides that anyone briefing the president needs to show him the information first. The Trump West Wing tradition of aides dropping off articles on the president’s desk — then waiting for him to react, with a screaming phone call or a hastily scheduled staff meeting, must stop. He will not accept aides walking into the Oval Office and telling the president information without permission — or without the information being vetted.

“He basically said, 'The president has to get good briefings, he has to get good intelligence,'” one senior White House official said. “We have to be putting him in a position to make good decisions.”

-snip-

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/02/john-kelly-trump-west-wing-241268

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Good as far as it goes.

But, as the article mentions later, Trump's also made bad decisions and posted controversial tweets after watching Fox News, or talking to his real estate friends to get their political opinions.

And, according to the article, "Senior officials are likely to still give him articles to read without Kelly knowing."

But at least Kelly is trying to limit the fake news and conspiracy theories Trump consumes.

[Renew Deal]

1. At some point someone has to ask, is Kelly really the president?

[madaboutharry]

2. This won't last because Trump isn't going to like it.

Organization and order doesn't work for him.

[Blue Idaho]

3. Exactly my thoughts...

Trump will view this as a lack of attention. He NEEDS the spotlight, he DEMANDS the spotlight. Sooner or later he will despise Kelly for hogging all the attention.

[flibbitygiblets]

15. And he doesn't like being told what to do either. He thinks he's smarter than everyone else.

Look how often he disregards his lawyer's advice, and just starts blabbing how it's no big deal that he (fill in illegal action here) because he actually thinks he's going to B/S his way through this "Russia thing".

Imagine how long he'll listen to some dumbass General? I give it a week before Vonkers and JarJar get pissed that they don't have immediate access to Daddy, and suddenly the hate tweets will begin.

[Scarsdale]

21. Nobody

will keep "whole package" Ivanka from daddy. Like daddy, she thinks she knows it all, too, plus (in her mind) she is beautiful. Remember she is looking forward to "working alongside" Kelly. Kelly has scraped smarter stuff off his shoes than anyone in the WH. I think even he will tire of the antics of the tRump family in short order.I would like to see him TRY to get an explanation of WHY Ivanka has an office in the WH? Qualifications? Just as numerous as her daddy's, which is to say NONE. The "boys" Beavis and Butthead must be livid about the whole situation, where she is right there and they are shut out.

[mountain grammy]

4. Gee, wonder how Bannon will take this.

[Kleveland]

9. Bent over I hope.....

Or perhaps, he will master another contortionist act of self satisfaction, and he will go fuck himself!

[mountain grammy]

11. ...

[leanforward]

5. We need the General right there as long as he can last.

If he can influence dRumpf, we are ALL better off.

We need him there, especially when indictments start coming down. The General is there. I would imagine his aides are quite intelligent.

Follow the money.

[adigal]

14. Kelly is an enabling hater....he has gone along with Idiot Trump on all

The idiot things Trump has said and done. He has deported people who have worked here for 20 years, ripped people out of churches and shelters, told Teump to use a sword on the press, and encouraged Idiot in his 3 million illegal voter beliefs.
Kelly is not our friend.

[Scarsdale]

22. I fail to see

how anyone with an I.Q. above room temperature, could accept a position in that mad house of a WH. They are all nuts, full of their own importance. Was Kelly installed to keep wraps on what tRump is REALLY up to behind the scenes? Who the HELL is really running this country?

[50 Shades Of Blue]

6. 24K gold in? Garbage out.

[TomCADem]

7. Will Fox and Friends Allow Kelley to Pre-screen Its Show?

Otherwise, I do not see how this will work.

[Scarsdale]

23. The gop

has achieved its' objective!!

[FakeNoose]

8. Start by unplugging all the TVs in the White House

...or at least BAN Fox News in the White House. If he has to watch TV, make sure it's a real news channel.

[Denzil_DC]

16. You took the words right out of my mouth!

You can take a horse to water ...

Trump's absorption with his preferred media will likely swamp any "good" information Kelly tries to channel to him, not least because it panders to his prejudices and is presented in simplistic terms and easily digestible soundbites tailored to his tiny attention span.

Maybe Kelly should hack the White House cable system and ensure Trump sees only specially produced fake "Fox"-branded programs. That might do some good.

But all this assumes that Trump's problem is bad information. His thinking processes are another matter ...

[left-of-center2012]

10. This linked article ...

... really shows how incompetent and nuts Trump is.

[Corgigal]

12. Retired military

do not understand civilians. I still fight with the VA when they mail me something and tell me to go here and do this.

I'm a civilian, I have constitutional rights now. Ask like a damn human being, you had your military career to have others paid to put up with your bullshit. They are civilians now.

Good luck West Wing personnel. You're not in the military. Think for yourself.

[adigal]

13. Remember, the fish stinks from the head down

How is Kelly the Deporter going to keep the Orange Idiot from watching Fox News? This is a 71 year old narcissist. Trump might "behave" for a week or so, but will chafe against any restrictions after a very very short bit of time.

[truthisfreedom]

17. He's obsessed with people named Kelly.

This will fail.

[cstanleytech]

18. No more Globe? Oh the horror!!!!

[DeminPennswoods]

19. This is ok as far as it goes, but

Trump spends a lot of time watching TV/cable news (mostly FoxNews) which is where most of this fake news eminates. People come into Trump's orbit and apparently don't leave it ala Lewandowski. They have his personal phone number and can call any time. He has friends and acquaintances outside the WH and keeps in constant touch with them as when he goes to Mar-a-Lago, Bedminster and his other properties on weekends.

Trump's psychological need for attention is eventually going to overwhelm whatever Kelly does/tries to do.

[Solly Mack]

20. ...

because the president would make better decisions if given good information.

LMAO. No, he won't. LOLOLOL Either wishful thinking or someone else is going to make the decisions.

“He basically said, 'The president has to get good briefings, he has to get good intelligence,'” one senior White House official said. “We have to be putting him in a position to make good decisions.”

The very fact that they needed to be told this says it all.

[BumRushDaShow]

24. The process is correct

and in "normal" situations, the process SHOULD help alleviate the problems. However this is not a "normal" situation and due to the infestation of CT-hurling, fake news-manufacturing staff, along with Russian-promoted propaganda, with the insistence of dismissing ALL "mainstream" print & broadcast news sources in favor of Faux, Breitfart, InfoWars, and other bullshit RW sites, Kelly's efforts will be for naught.

[Phoenix61]

25. The key problem in the White House is the idiot in charge

I'm a firm believer in garbage in-garbage out but cleaning up the data in this situation isn't going to help. The problem is the CPU is bad and the only fix is to replace it.

[Frustratedlady]

26. Sounds more like a nanny than a COS. eom

[haele]

27. So Kelly thinks the problem with Drumpf the businessman is bad info?

And that things will run "ship shape" if Kelly can manage the versions of conservative fantasies-err, "reality" that Drumpf is exposed to?

I don't think Kelly really understands yet that Drumpf is the excitable toddler who runs around the department store hiding in the clothes racks and getting messy fingerprints all over the patent leather shoes and Sees Chocolate packs he opens up and flings costume jewelry around while Daddy and Mommy (i.e., the GOP and their backers) are passive-aggressively intent on arguing over what to "get Grammy and Grandpa for the 47th Anniversary party the next day". With Bannon and Putin as the nasty bully older brothers egging him on while they're supposed to be watching him.

If he's going to be constrained to some form of reality, Drumpf either needs to be on a leash or belted into a stroller.
Or Kelly is going to have to buckle down and be a real babysitter, which means he's not going to last much longer as WHCoS.

Haele