Multiple news outlets are reporting that there was a shouting match outside the Oval Office on Thursday afternoon between White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and National Security Advisor John Bolton. Bloomberg described the melee as “a profanity-laced argument.” The report added that, “The shouting match was so intense that other White House aides worried one of the two men might immediately resign.”
CNN offered a parallel account:
The fight between Kelly and Bolton startled several aides throughout the West Wing on Thursday, a person who heard the shouting said, adding that the raised voices went well beyond the heated discussions of the Trump administration.After the blowup, aides whispered privately that one of the men might leave the White House given the deep disagreement over the border. The fact that the President sided with Bolton, which only added to Kelly’s fury.
Whatever the outcome, the incident reinforces the sense of a chaotic White House, an impression that was furthered by a bizarre visit from musician Kanye West last week.
On October 10, Olivia Nuzzi of New York magazine published a revealing account of an interview she had with Trump, where they discussed rumors that Kelly was about to leave the White House. In order to reassure her, Trump brought in Kelly himself, Vice President Mike Pence, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Their entrance into the Oval Office seemed to be done on cue, as if Trump wanted to present a show of solidarity. Trump described the White House as running like a “well-oiled machine.”
His underlings agreed:
“He’s a great president,” Kelly said. “Do we disagree sometimes? We do. My job is to make sure that that man has all of the information available from whatever source so that he makes the best decision, and then, when that decision is made, my job is to then implement that decision. There is, to the best of my knowledge, no chaos in this building. We’ve gotten rid of a few bad actors, but everyone works very, very well together. The biggest surprise when we bring new people in, like Bill Shine, it’s like, ‘I thought this place was gonna be full of backstabbers and chaos and, Chief, people all like each other.’ To the best of my knowledge …”
A smile spread across the president’s face. Cutting Kelly off, he said, “Bill was actually a little disappointed.” This prompted laughter around the room, but not from Kelly. “He thought it would be a lot more exciting,” Trump added.