US President Donald Trump ousted his former Chief of Staff, Reince Priebus for his failure to rein in an out of control White House.
Seemingly non-stop leaks to the media over the first few months of the Trump presidency had undermined the administration’s agenda and allowed critics to control the narrative. A known control freak, Donald Trump was forced to sack Priebus in order to restore order to the seat of power.
Trump announced the decision via Twitter as he sat aboard Air Force One earlier today. Moments later the US President told reporters, “Reince is a good man. John Kelly will do a fantastic job. General Kelly has been a star, done an incredible job thus far, respected by everybody, a great, great, American. But Reince Priebus — a good man.”
Trump had also earlier tweeted the appointment of the hitherto secretary of homeland security, and retired general, John Kelly.
Another factor responsible for Priebus’ ouster, his recent clash with Anthony Scaramucci, the new White House communications director. The two men have never hidden their disdain for one another, and Saramucci recently said he felt Priebus was complicit in some of the leaks coming from the White House.
“I think General (John) Kelly is a brilliant pick,” Priebus said in an interview, conducted from the White House Roosevelt Room. “We’ll be working on a transition here for a couple weeks together with General Kelly starting on Monday morning. So this is not like a situation where there are a bunch of ill will feelings.”
“The president has a right to change directions,” Priebus said on CNN.
“The president has a right to hit a reset button. I think it’s a good time to hit the reset button.”
“I’m always going to be a Trump fan,” he said. “I’m on Team Trump, and I look forward to helping him achieve his goals and his agenda for the American people.”