Former President Donald Trump, 77, knows how to make enemies on both sides of the aisle, especially of former employees. Former Chief of Staff Gen. John Kelly said recently that Trump is “scared s—tless” over Special Counsel Jack Smith’s June 9, 37-count indictment for classified docs found at Mar-a-Lago by the FBI Aug. 8, 2022. Kelly joins a growing chorus of angry former employees, all of whom have denounced Trump, some more than others. GOP 2024 candidate 60-year-old former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has been on the warpath against Trump for some time. Christie thinks his distasteful attacks score points trying to climb out of a deep hole for the GOP nomination. Christie never forgave Trump for not offering him a Cabinet post after running his transition team in 2016. Christie now, like a jilted lover, continues to lash out at Trump thinking it wins primary votes.
Speaking to the anti-Trump press, it’s tempting to lash out, mirroring the kind of disloyalty seen by Trump’s 56-year-old former attorney Michael Cohen, who’s a welcomed guest on CNN, MSNBC, often quoted by the New York Times and Washington Post. Forget about Cohen’s felony convictions, largely for income tax evasion, doing time in federal prison. Since his release Nov. 22, 2021, he’s been on the warpath against Trump, going on any station willing to hear him. As Trump’s former personal attorney, it’s especially sickening to watch Cohen lash out at Trump. But Kelly is just the latest former employee to retaliate against trump. “John Kelly pretended to be a ‘tough guy,’ but was actually weak and ineffective, born with a VERY small ‘brain,” Trump said, responding to Kelly’s recent remarks to the Washington Post how the former president was running scared.
Watching Trump’s former employees lash out speaks volumes of how Trump didn’t mince words when it came to ending relationships. Things weren’t different with all of Trump’s former Cabinet officials, like 59-year-old former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, currently running against Trump in 2024. Pompeo can’t control his mouth about Trump’s recent indictments, one from April 4 Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, the other from Jack Smith. Pompeo seemed to get along with Trump, up until he decided to run for president. Pompeo now takes veiled swipes at Trump at every opportunity, thinking that it helps his flagging campaign. Trump is light years ahead of his nearest rival 45-year-old Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, losing ground by the day, now at about 15%, some 40% behind Trump. Attacking Trump doesn’t seem to help Trump’s rivals, largely because Trump has a loyal following.
Saying Trump was “scared sh—less” doesn’t look good for Kelly, whose tenure with Trump lasted two-and-half-years, leaving before Trump left the White House before 80-year-old President Joe Biden’s Jan. 20, 2023 inauguration. “He had a hard time functioning in a political world, and was truly an exhausted and beaten man when I fired him,” Trump said. Kelly spoke to the Washington Post, one of Trump’s most critical papers together with the New York Times. No one had more animosity against Trump than the late Sen. John McCain (R-Az.). McCain handed former Secretary of State Hillary’s Rodham Clinton’s paid opposition research AKA the Steele dossier, to 67-year-old former CIA Director John Brennan. Brennan gave the dossier to 62-year-old former FBI Director James Comey, who opened up an illegal counterintelligence investigation accusing Trump of Russian collusion.
John Kelly’s backstabbing Trump pales in comparison to the buffoon-like attacks of former Atty. Gen. Bill Barr, telling the liberal press exactly what they want to hear about Trump’s inevitable conviction. Barr was called Trump’s “lapdog” during his year-and-a-half at the Justice Department, once defending Trump against vicious attacks by House and Senate Democrats, all of which were fabricated. But once Barr ended his stint as attorney general, he joined the anti-Trump bandwagon, telling the press his former boss violated the law at Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots and criminal mishandling of classified documents. Barr tried to get to the bottom of Comey’s illegal counterintelligence investigation AKA Crossfire Hurricane, appointing former U.S. Atty. John Durham (R-Conn.) to get to the bottom of Comey’s 2016 investigation. Durham corroborated corruption at the DOJ and FBI.
Watching Trump’s former employees stab him in the back speaks volumes of how Trump, the perfectionist, has a way of insulting just about everyone. “In the end, he was as ‘mummy’ who sat in his office and stared at the ceiling—he was ‘shot.’ I’ll never forget how his very nice wife told me that ‘John loves you and respects you more than anyone, he w ill always say the BEST thins about you.’ Oh well, so much for that,” Trump said. Kelly now calls Trump “the most flawed person he’s ever know,” attesting to coming full circle as a Trump-hater. No one despises Trump more than the media that spread every possible lie about his ties to the Kremlin. Now the U.S. press insists that Trump should be put away for mishandling classified docs, even though the boxes at Mar-a-Lago contain mostly worthless rubbish. Garland and Smith have a lot of nerve accusing Trump of violating the 1917 Espionage Act.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
