In a rare move, President Donald Trump praised his secretary of homeland security Tuesday, saying that she did a “fabulous job” at a Monday press conference about the administration’s policy of separating families at the border.
Homeland Security @SecNielsen did a fabulous job yesterday at the press conference explaining security at the border and for our country, while at the same time recommending changes to obsolete & nasty laws, which force family separation. We want “heart” and security in America!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 20, 2018
Recent reports have catalogued Trump’s rage with Nielsen, who he considers to be too soft on immigration, and a feckless Bush administration holdover. He has been unhappy with her nearly since the beginning of her tenure when he flagellated her at a Cabinet meeting in an episode some attendees called “the most uncomfortable scene they have witnessed in their professional lives.”
In addition, her horse is tethered to Chief of Staff John Kelly’s wagon, as Kelly pushed hard for her nomination and considers her a “surrogate daughter.” Trump is perennially displeased with Kelly, who has taken to spending his days at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building gym rather than trying to rein in the human tornado of Trump.
