![\"\"](\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Trump-and-Gen.-Kelly-AFPGetty-640x480.jpg\")
<\/a>AFP<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n
by KRISTINA WONG<\/p>\n
President Trump is chafing under Chief of Staff John Kelly\u2019s control and is finding ways around it,\u00a0according<\/a>\u00a0to a report.<\/h2>\nKelly has tried to control who the president talks to, but Trump is continuing to call business friends and outside advisers, including former chief strategist Steve Bannon, the report by the\u00a0Washington Post<\/em>\u00a0said.<\/p>\nTrump calls Bannon and others from his personal phone when Kelly is not around, the report said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDonald Trump resists being handled,\u201d Roger Stone, former Trump adviser and longtime confidant, told the\u00a0Post.<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cNobody tells him who to see, who to listen to, what to read, what he can say,\u201d he said. \u201cGeneral Kelly is trying to treat the president like a mushroom. Keeping him in the dark and feeding him s\u2014 is not going to work. Donald Trump is a free spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whereas before friends could call the White House and be patched through to the president, now his calls are routed through Kelly and do not always make it to the president, the report said. Friends used to be able to drop by the West Wing, but now they must have an official appointment and a clear reason to visit.<\/p>\n
Some Trump loyalists derisively dub Kelly \u201cthe church lady,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n
Kelly is reportedly reviewing White House staff and is \u201csaid to be targeting aides without clear portfolios or responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
So far, most if not all of the White House staffers who have been removed, pushed out, or resigned have been Trump loyalists who were with him during the campaign.<\/p>\n
Trump \u201cdoesn\u2019t like\u201d how Kelly is handling him, the report said.<\/p>\n
At the same time, he is \u201cquietly fuming\u201d over National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn\u2019s public criticism of his response to the events in Charlottesville, even after they spoke privately.<\/p>\n
He has \u201cgrown increasingly frustrated\u201d with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, whose approach the president says is \u201ctotally establishment.\u201d<\/p>\n
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters earlier this week that Trump \u201cabsolutely\u201d has confidence in Tillerson.<\/p>\n
Barry Bennett, a former campaign adviser, told the\u00a0Post<\/em>\u00a0that it\u2019s \u201cnot unusual\u201d for Trump to bluster about things.<\/p>\n\u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s real. There were people on the campaign staff that he said to fire a dozen times, but he never did it. It was just bark. And some people don\u2019t know the difference between the bark and the bite,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Trump calls Bannon and others from his personal phone when Kelly is not around, the report said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDonald Trump resists being handled,\u201d Roger Stone, former Trump adviser and longtime confidant, told the\u00a0Post.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cNobody tells him who to see, who to listen to, what to read, what he can say,\u201d he said. \u201cGeneral Kelly is trying to treat the president like a mushroom. Keeping him in the dark and feeding him s\u2014 is not going to work. Donald Trump is a free spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n Whereas before friends could call the White House and be patched through to the president, now his calls are routed through Kelly and do not always make it to the president, the report said. Friends used to be able to drop by the West Wing, but now they must have an official appointment and a clear reason to visit.<\/p>\n Some Trump loyalists derisively dub Kelly \u201cthe church lady,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n Kelly is reportedly reviewing White House staff and is \u201csaid to be targeting aides without clear portfolios or responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n So far, most if not all of the White House staffers who have been removed, pushed out, or resigned have been Trump loyalists who were with him during the campaign.<\/p>\n Trump \u201cdoesn\u2019t like\u201d how Kelly is handling him, the report said.<\/p>\n At the same time, he is \u201cquietly fuming\u201d over National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn\u2019s public criticism of his response to the events in Charlottesville, even after they spoke privately.<\/p>\n He has \u201cgrown increasingly frustrated\u201d with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, whose approach the president says is \u201ctotally establishment.\u201d<\/p>\n White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters earlier this week that Trump \u201cabsolutely\u201d has confidence in Tillerson.<\/p>\n Barry Bennett, a former campaign adviser, told the\u00a0Post<\/em>\u00a0that it\u2019s \u201cnot unusual\u201d for Trump to bluster about things.<\/p>\n \u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s real. There were people on the campaign staff that he said to fire a dozen times, but he never did it. It was just bark. And some people don\u2019t know the difference between the bark and the bite,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n