Chief of staff Kelly wasn’t squirming over the substance of Trump’s Germany harangue says the White House – he was just expecting a full breakfast and ‘there were only pastries and cheese’!
- Trump shocked allies by laying into Germany at a breakfast to kick off NATO summit
- White House chief of staff John Kelly looked away as Trump began tirade
- He wrote in a notebook and scratched his ear as Trump went on
- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sat stone-faced
- U.S. ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison looked straight across the table with a blank expression
- Trump called Germany ‘totally controlled by Russia’
- The White House made light of the display saying Kelly wanted a ‘full breakfast’
White House chief of staff John Kelly looked away, scratched his ear, and even scribbled a note as President Trump launched into a rant where he called Germany ‘totally controlled by Russia.’
Trump’s attack on the longtime U.S. ally and trans-atlantic partner shocked European allies at the start of a NATO summit.
Camera’s captured the presidential harangue, which also appeared to cause discomfort for some of Trump’s top advisors.
But the White House made light of his apparent reaction. Kelly ‘was displeased because he was expecting a full breakfast and there were only pastries and cheese,’ White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told the Washington Post.
QUITE AN EARFUL: White House Chief of Staff John Kelly fidgeted during President Trump’s lecture
[Kelly] was displeased because he was expecting a full breakfast and there were only pastries and cheese’ – White House press secrtary Sarah Huckabee Sanders
Kelly looked at Trump as he said Germany was ‘controlled by Russia,’ then looked away several seconds later as Trump continued. Then he scratches his ear as Trump says ‘I don’t think it should have happened.’
Then Kelly starts taking notes when Trump says Germany was paying ‘a little over one per cent,’ a reference to his long-stated complaints about meeting defense spending commitments.
U.S. ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison looked uncomfortably across the table as Trump continued to blast NATO burden sharing, an area where she said Tuesday that progress was being made.
IS THAT A SPOT ON THE FLOOR? President Donald Trump gestures as he and U.S. Secretary of Defence James Mattis, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attend a bilateral breakfast with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg ahead of the NATO Summit in Brussels, Belgium July 11, 2018
BUT HOW DO YOU REALLY FEEL?: White House Chief of Staff John Kelly fidgeted during President Trump’s lecture
MAKE A NOTE – THIS IS AWKWARD: White House Chief of Staff John Kelly fidgeted during President Trump’s lecture
THOSE ARE SOME NICE FLAGS: White House Chief of Staff John Kelly looks away during President Trump’s lecture
President Donald Trump, U.S. Secretary of Defence James Mattis, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attend a bilateral breakfast with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg ahead of the NATO Summit in Brussels, Belgium July 11, 2018
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who flew in after a trip to Pyongyang where he failed to get a meeting with dictator Kim Jong-un, sat expressionless while Trump complained that ‘we’re protecting everybody,’ portraying the longstanding security alliance as a ripoff.
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