More than a year into his role as chief of staff in the Trump White House, John Kelly’s patience with other men in Trump’s orbit is reportedly wearing thin.
According to a Monday report in the New York Times, in February, Kelly got into a physical altercation with former campaign manager-turned Trump hype man Corey Lewandowski just after the two were dismissed from the Oval Office. The incident involved Kelly grabbing Lewandowski by the collar.
The incident occurred in February, just before the families of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School victims came to the White House to meet with Trump. According to people briefed on the event who spoke to the Times, both Lewandowski and Kelly were meeting with Trump and Kelly unleashed on Lewandowski for criticizing him on television over his handling of Rob Porter’s security clearance. Kelly also criticized the former Trump campaign manager for the amount of money he was making off of his contract with a Trump re-election super PAC.
When the two were dismissed from the Oval Office, Kelly reportedly asked someone to remove Lewandowski from the West Wing, which prompted the two to begin arguing. According to a person with direct knowledge of the incident who spoke to the Times, that’s when Kelly grabbed Lewandowski and tried to shove him up against a wall.
Lewandowski reportedly did not respond physically, but the Secret Service was brought in.
The Times report is the second in recent days that’s described Kelly losing his temper with other officials in the West Wing. Last week, the Times reported that Kelly got into a profanity-ridden shouting match with National Security Adviser John Bolton outside the Oval Office on Thursday. The altercation prompted Kelly to leave the White House for the remainder of the day.
