Kelly: Trump's Tweet Was Accurate, U.S. Will Stay In PR 'Until The Job Is Done'
Source: Talking Points Memo
By NICOLE LAFOND Published OCTOBER 12, 2017 2:33 PM
President Donald Trump does, in fact, believe the people of Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens worthy of the same relief efforts from the federal government as the residents of Florida and Texas, Trump’s Chief of Staff John Kelly said Thursday during a press briefing at the White House.
When asked how that sentiment translates into Trump’s Thursday morning tweets — where he said Congress would decide how much funding the U.S. territory gets and that federal recovery efforts couldn’t stay in Puerto Rico “forever!” — Kelly said his tweet was “exactly accurate.”
“The minute you go anywhere as a first responder, and this applies certainly to the military, you’re trying very hard, you’re working very hard to work yourself out of a job,” he said. “There will be a period in which we hope, sooner rather than later, to where the U.S. military and FEMA, generally speaking, can withdraw because then the government and the people of Puerto Rico are recovering sufficiently to start the process of rebuilding.” He said Trump and Kelly have a “great relationship” with the governor of Puerto Rico and vowed the U.S. would “stand with those American citizens in Puerto Rico until the job is done.”
“The tweet about FEMA … is extremely accurate. They’re not going to be there forever and the whole point is to start to work yourself out of a job and transition to the rebuilding process.”
###
Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/kelly-trumps-tweet-accurate-us-stay-pr-until-job-done
WH Chief Of Staff Meets The Press: ‘I Don’t Think I’m Being Fired Today’
By MATT SHUHAM Published OCTOBER 12, 2017 2:12 PM
White House chief of staff John Kelly took over the White House press briefing Thursday to assure the American people of a few things: He’s not quitting, and he’s not getting fired. He thinks.
“I would just offer to you that although I read it all of the time pretty consistently, I’m not quitting today,” he told reporters, after press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders introduced him by saying she was “calling in the Marines.
“I don’t believe, and I just talked to the President, I don’t think I’m being fired today,” Kelly continued. “And I’m not so frustrated in this job that I’m thinking of leaving.”
Kelly took over as White House chief of staff at the end of July, replacing former Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus. He’s attempted to institute a measure of control and professionalism on the Trump administration, though stories of infighting are common.
more
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/john-kelly-press-briefing-quitting-fired
===================================================
It’s Not Me, It’s You: John Kelly Lectures The Press To ‘Get Better Sources’
By MATT SHUHAM Published OCTOBER 12, 2017 2:37 PM
White House chief of staff John Kelly told the White House press corps Thursday that one of President Donald Trump’s frustrations “is you.”
“Me personally?” the reporter questioning him asked.
“All of you,” Kelly said.
“Not all of you, but many of you.”
“I’m a reasonable guy,” he continued. “But when I read in the morning, I read — I won’t tell you what I read, but when I watch TV in the morning, it’s astounding to me how much is misreported.”
The chief of staff said he recognized that many members of the media were “operating off of contacts, leaks, whatever you call them.” But he offered the assembled reporters a piece of advice: “Maybe develop some better sources.”
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/john-kelly-trumps-frustrations-you
= new reply since forum marked as read
