Gen. John Kelly was just joking, of course, when he handed President Donald Trump a saber at a U.S. Coast Guard Academy ceremony in May, and offered a suggestion: “Use that on the press, sir.”
But now, as Trump’s new chief of staff, Kelly needs a few weapons of his own — not so much to control wayward reporters but to bring discipline to a White House that often seems uncontrollable, especially when it comes to telling untruths.
So far, so good. He’s fired the potty-mouthed narcissist Anthony Scaramucci as communications director and shown no interest in retaining the hapless Sean Spicer.