President Trump invoked John Kelly’s wife while ripping his former chief of staff over a recent speech he made criticizing the administration.
Kelly condemned Trump’s treatment of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, among other issues, on Wednesday night. Trump responded to Kelly’s remarks in a Thursday morning tweet, writing, “When I terminated John Kelly, which I couldn’t do fast enough, he knew full well that he was way over his head.
“Being Chief of Staff just wasn’t for him. He came in with a bang, went out with a whimper, but like so many X’s, he misses the action & just can’t keep his mouth shut … which he actually has a military and legal obligation to do,” he continued. “His incredible wife, Karen, who I have a lot of respect for, once pulled me aside & said strongly that ‘John respects you greatly. When we are no longer here, he will only speak well of you.’ Wrong!”
….which he actually has a military and legal obligation to do. His incredible wife, Karen, who I have a lot of respect for, once pulled me aside & said strongly that “John respects you greatly. When we are no longer here, he will only speak well of you.” Wrong!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 13, 2020
Kelly argued that Trump was wrong to reassign Vindman from the White House to another position in the Pentagon after he testified against the president during the House impeachment hearings. The former Marine Corps general added that “[Vindman] did exactly what we teach them to do from cradle to grave. He went and told his boss what he just heard.”
The president’s response was not the first time he has singled out the wife of one of his political foes. In 2017, Trump tweeted about former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s wife, Jill McCabe, and her election for a state senate seat. He similarly invoked former Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr’s “wonderful wife.”
Trump also ripped model Chrissy Teigen as the “filthy mouthed wife” of singer John Legend while attacking the musician, who had continued to criticize the president after he passed criminal justice reform efforts. His remarks on Tiegan were similar to his comments about MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski in which he referred to her as Joe Scarborough’s “psycho wife.”
Karen Kelly and the former chief of staff married in 1976. The couple’s youngest son, Robert Kelly, died while serving in Afghanistan in 2010 at the age of 29. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
