John Kelly Used to Be the Mediator Between Melania and Ivanka Trump's 'Fights'

In the tumultuous landscape of the Trump White House, John Kelly, a four-star Marine general and then-White House chief of staff, found himself entangled in a web of conflicts between Melania Trump and Ivanka Trump. These conflicts, as revealed by New York Times journalist Michael Schmidt, were not matters of national security or geopolitical significance but rather, as Schmidt puts it, "far more frivolous issues."

According to Schmidt, Ivanka harbored ambitions of being the first lady in a "ceremonial" sense, as per Business Insider. In his book, Donald Trump v. The United States, Schmidt sheds light on Kelly's challenges in navigating the internal dynamics of the Donald Trump administration. Despite his background as a serious national security figure, Kelly had to grapple with issues that seemed incongruent with the gravity of his role.

The book, set to release its paperback edition, offers a 12,000-word biography of Kelly, highlighting his tenure as Trump's chief of staff. Schmidt paints a picture of a White House where Kelly, amidst concerns of potential war with North Korea, had to divert his attention to seemingly trivial matters, such as instructing former White House aide Omarosa to refrain from hosting parties at the White House pool.

"Here's John Kelly, right, concerned that we could be on the brink of war with North Korea, trying to mitigate these issues that are not as serious but were front and center in the Trump White House where things were off the rails," Schmidt remarked. The book's afterword, set to be published on Tuesday, reveals another alarming episode. In 2017, then-President Trump allegedly suggested dropping a nuclear bomb on North Korea and shifting the blame to someone else, as per NBC News. This revelation adds another layer to the complexity of Kelly's role, as he found himself attempting to dissuade Trump from a potentially catastrophic course of action.

"What scared Kelly even more than the tweets was that behind closed doors in the Oval Office, Trump continued to talk as if he wanted to go to war," the book notes. Kelly's attempts to reason with Trump, emphasizing the potential fallout and the impracticality of blaming someone else, appear to have had limited impact. Kelly's warnings about the need for congressional approval for a preemptive strike reportedly left Trump "baffled and annoyed." The book underscores the dissonance between Trump's public rhetoric, characterized by stern warnings to North Korea, and his private musings, where he casually considered using a nuclear weapon.

In the complex interplay of personalities within the Trump administration, Kelly, a seasoned military leader, found himself grappling not only with external threats but also with internal power struggles and whimsical debates. The juxtaposition of serious national security concerns with seemingly inconsequential conflicts between the first lady and the president's daughter paints a vivid picture of the challenges faced by those seeking to bring order to a chaotic White House.