The photos of John Kelly’s exasperated reaction to President Donald Trump’s speech to the UN today exploded on Twitter Tuesday.
The usually stoic White House Chief of Staff put his hand over his face as the president addressed the 193-nation body.
In addition to labeling Kim Jong-un ‘Rocket Man’ for threatening to used nukes, the commander in chief blasted ‘loser terrorists,’ the ‘corrupt’ government in Venezuela, and the ‘murderous’ Iranian regime, and ‘rogue regimes’.
John Kelly did not appear to be enjoying President Trump’s speech to the UN on Monday
The progressive veteran organization Vote Vets tweeted the photos of John Kelly
Some people thought Melania Trump was looking at the president in a bewildered manner
Kelly couldn’t control his reaction and cupped his temple with his hand, similar to a Star Trek meme as several pointed out on social media.
At another point, he put his elbows on his knees and pressed his face onto his clasped hands, looking like he was deeply contemplating his choices.
An editor of the Washington Examiner tweeted: ‘John Kelly apparently went through some sort of existential crisit during Trump’s UN speech.’
It isn’t clear what the 67-year-old thought of the speech, but his facial cues indicated he was less than pleased.
Trump tweeted that his speech was well reviewed, saying: ‘A great and important day at the United Nations.Met with leaders of many nations who agree with much (or all) of what I stated in my speech!’
People noted how several people sitting near John Kelly did not look particularly happy about President Trump’s speech
An editor of the Washington Examiner said it looked like he was having an existential crisis
Another person joked that Kelly’s face was easy to read, making him an easy poker opponent
One Twitter user noted the similarity between Kelly and this Star Trek meme
The facepalm is a universal gesture of exasperation or disbelief, sometimes both
His reaction was similar to how he looked when Trump first said there were bad guys on ‘both sides’ of the Charlottesville riots, grouping together Neo-Nazis and protesters.
Kelly is seen as one of the more grounded and straight-laced figured in the Trump administration. The New York Times once labelled him a ‘beacon of discipline.’
He replaced the former chief of staff Reince Priebus in July.