Melania Trump Reportedly Involved in White House Firing
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Just when you thought things couldn't get more hilarious-or terrifying-down in Camp Runamuck, a new center of power has exerted itself.
The power of Melania compels you! From CNN:
"It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that (Ricardel) no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House," the first lady's communications director Stephanie Grisham said in a statement on Tuesday. [Ed. Note: And who are you when you're at home?] The statement amounted to a stunning public rebuke by a first lady of a senior official serving in her husband's administration. It came after reports surfaced earlier Tuesday indicating Ricardel would be pushed out of her post after less than seven months on the job...
Reflecting the fast-moving nature of the events, soon after a Wall Street Journal report surfaced Tuesday afternoon alleging Ricardel was fired and escorted off the White House grounds, a senior White House official denied the story to reporters. The official said Ricardel was still in her office Tuesday afternoon. The official declined to speculate further about Ricardel's future in the administration...
It was those sharp elbows that sources said led to the first lady's stinging statement, with Ricardel most recently feuding with members of the first lady's staff over her trip to Africa. One person familiar with the matter said Ricardel quarreled with the first lady's staff over seating on the plane and use of National Security Council resources. A White House official accused Ricardel of being dishonest about the feud and subsequently leaking stories to try to cover her behavior.
Of course, were I working for an administration* that just got its head handed to it in an election because women truly hate it, I might want a story about an empowered First Lady right about now.
However, this is just sudden and crazy enough to be a legitimate episode in the rapidly devolving state of the White House. In fact, NBC is reporting that John Kelly, the White House chief of staff, may be Herself's next target.
Kelly’s time as chief of staff for most of the past year has been clouded by controversy and disagreements with Trump and various West Wing staff. But questions about his future in the White House recently became more serious after his repeated clashes with national security adviser John Bolton and his deputy, Ricardel.
Kelly has also gotten on the wrong side of Melania Trump over staffing issues and travel requests. Some of the disputes with the East Wing have escalated to the president, the seven people familiar with the clashes said. Melania Trump raised concerns with her husband earlier this year, amid the height of the controversy over his alleged affair with porn actress Stormy Daniels, that Kelly had repeatedly denied her requests to promote some of her aides, two White House officials told NBC News.
The requests languished for months as Kelly insisted there weren’t enough available positions for the first lady’s aides to have senior titles, these people said. During this same period however, West Wing officials working for Kelly received promotions, the White House officials said. Having learned of the dispute, the president was furious and told Kelly to give the first lady, who has a smaller East Wing staff than her recent predecessors, what she wanted, these people said. "I don't need this shit," Trump told Kelly, according to one person familiar with the conversation.
I know how he feels.
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