NBC News has a story up about White House chief of staff John Kelly. It’s getting a ton of attention because (a) Kelly has apparently called Trump an “idiot” several times and (b) the White House flaks offered up a cringingly outdated defense of Kelly’s attitude toward women (“If anything, they said during meetings Kelly is the ‘bigger gentleman’ who steps in when aides use foul language to note ‘a lady is present’ ”).
So naturally I clicked the link. About halfway down I got to this:
He has also pushed back against the president on some foreign policy and military issues, current and former White House officials said. In one heated exchange between the two men before February’s Winter Olympics in South Korea, Kelly strongly — and successfully — dissuaded Trump from ordering the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from the Korean Peninsula, according to two officials.
Look, I know the gossipy stuff is great, but maybe this should have been the lead? Did the president of the United States seriously entertain the thought of simply pulling out of South Korea? That seems kind of important.
