Friday, July 28, 2017

Priebus Gone

By Douglas V. Gibbs
Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host

The Conservative Never Trump crowd is interesting.  They are like Climate Change fanatics who see anything going on in the weather as evidence to support their myth of man-made global warming.  The #nevertrump folks said when Reince Priebus was chosen as Chief of Staff that it was proof Donald Trump was a liberal, because he put a RINO (Republican In Name Only) in as his Chief of Staff.  Reince Priebus resigned last night and now the #nevertrump folks are screaming, "See, he's losing the conservatives around him, and replacing them with liberals. That proves Trump is a liberal."

Which is it, #nevertrump'rs?  Is Priebus a RINO, or a conservative?

The Priebus resignation closely follows the departure of Press Secretary Sean Spicer, another guy I really did not want to see go.

The cause, if we want to believe there is a cause and effect thing going on, here, is the hiring of a gentleman named Anthony Scaramucci as the guy in charge of White House communications.

Spicer did not like the hiring of Scaramucci, so in protest, he bailed.  The reasoning is that he didn't like that fact that the new White House communications director would be taking over some of Spicer's duties, but I think it has to do with the fact that Scaramucci's past comments and political record doesn't exactly fit the conservative mold that Trump has largely been trying to fill.  Priebus, it is believed, is simply another casualty from the Scaramucci earthquake.

Priebus' replacement will be Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.  Kelly is a retired general who had been leading Trump's efforts regarding immigration enforcement.  Kelly will start in his new role as Chief of Staff on Monday.

“It has been one of the greatest honors of my life to serve this president and our country,” Priebus said in a statement. “I want to thank the president for giving me this very special opportunity. I will continue to serve as a strong supporter of the president's agenda and policies.”

He added, “I can't think of a better person than Gen. John Kelly to succeed me and I wish him God's blessings and great success.”

Trump made the announcement publicly on Twitter late Friday afternoon.

"I am pleased to inform you that I have just named General/Secretary John F Kelly as White House Chief of Staff. He is a Great American ... and a Great Leader. John has also done a spectacular job at Homeland Security. He has been a true star of my Administration," he tweeted.

Kelly used courteous language in his statement, as well.

"I have been fortunate to have served my country for more than 45 years - first as a Marine and then as the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. "I am honored to be asked to serve as the chief of staff to the President of the United States."

Congressmen and members of Trump's staff have both applauded the choice of Kelly.

"Reince is a good man,” Trump told reporters at Andrews. “John Kelly will do a fantastic job. General Kelly has been a star, done an incredible job thus far, respected by everybody. He's a great, great American. Reince is a good man."

A day earlier, Scaramucci was quoted in a New Yorker story using not-so-courteous-language as he bashed Priebus and seemed to accuse him of leaking to reporters.

“Reince is a f---ing paranoid schizophrenic, a paranoiac,” Scaramucci was quoted saying.

After that story’s publication, Scaramucci didn’t deny the comments or apologize. He tweeted that he "made a mistake in trusting in a reporter.”

“I sometimes use colorful language,” he said. “I will refrain in this arena but not give up the passionate fight for @realDonaldTrump's agenda.”

“I think Gen. Kelly is a brilliant pick,” Priebus said in an interview on CNN, noting he would help Kelly with the transition for several weeks.

Priebus said he was leaving on good terms with the president.

“This is not like a situation where there’s a bunch of ill-will feelings. This is, I think, good for the president. I think it’s smart for him to pick Gen. Kelly. And I think that things are going to be run very well,” he said.

Priebus declined to discuss Scaramucci’s comments about him. “I’m not going to respond to it,” he said. “I’m not going to get into the mud on those sorts of things.”

Asked if he was a leaker, he said: “That’s ridiculous, Wolf, come on. I’m not going to get into his accusations.”

Priebus said he planned to take some vacation time with his family, but that he’d continue to support the president.

“I’m always going to be a Trump fan,” he said. “I’m on Team Trump. And I look forward to helping him achieve his goals and his agenda for the American people.”

Both Priebus and Spicer will be missed, but the Trump train will continue forward, anyways.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

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