White House chief of staff John Kelly -- a former general whose son died in Afghanistan -- made an emotive defense of Donald Trump Thursday, amid a scandal over the president&#39;s phone call with a military widow.

Kelly, who spent nearly four decades in the Marine Corps, said he had advised Trump not to call the families of four servicemen killed in Niger personally, but was disgusted by how the issue had become politicised.

He blamed the Democratic lawmaker who made public the contents of a call between Trump and widow Myeshia Johnson.

&quot;I was stunned when I came to work yesterday morning and brokenhearted at what I saw a member of Congress doing,&quot; he said.

&quot;A member of Congress who listened in on a phone call from the president of the United States to a young wife,&quot; he said. &quot;Absolutely stuns me. And I thought at least that was sacred.&quot;

&quot;The only thing I could do to collect my thoughts was to go and walk among the finest men and women on this Earth. And you can always find them. Because they&#39;re in Arlington National Cemetery.&quot;

Kelly said he &quot;went over there for an hour and a half, walked among the stones, some of whom I put there because they were doing what I told them to do when they were killed.&quot;

Trump kicked off the furore early this week by falsely claiming that Barack Obama and other former US leaders did not call the families of fallen soldiers.

He returned to the subject in an interview with Fox News radio and brought up his chief of staff Kelly, whose son, a Marine Corps lieutenant, was killed by a landmine in Afghanistan in 2010.

&quot;You could ask General Kelly &#39;Did he get a call from Obama?&#39;&quot; Trump said.

&#39;It still hurts&#39; 
 
It was then alleged that during a call Trump had offended the pregnant widow of Sergeant La David Johnson, 25, who was one of four US servicemembers killed in a jihadist ambush October 4.

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Thursday that Johnson&#39;s body was &quot;found later&quot; by non-American forces following the ambush, which is thought to have been conducted by jihadists in an area where an Islamic State group affiliate operates.

As is routine in incidents where troops are killed, the Pentagon has opened an inquiry into the soldiers&#39; deaths.&nbsp;

The details of Trump&#39;s call with Johnson&#39;s widow were released by Frederica Wilson, a Democratic congresswoman from Florida.

&quot;I didn&#39;t hear the whole phone call, but I did hear him say, &#39;I&#39;m sure he knew what he was signing up for, but it still hurts,&#39;&quot; she recalled, sparking another round of controversy.

The soldier&#39;s mother also suggested that the president struggled to convey an empathetic tone.

&quot;President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband,&quot; Sergeant Johnson&#39;s mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, told the Washington Post.

Kelly said he had advised Trump not to make the calls: &quot;My first recommendation was he not do it. Because it&#39;s not the phone call that parents, family members are looking forward to.&quot;

But, after taking advice, Kelly said Trump &quot;called four people the other day and expressed his condolences in the best way he could.&quot;

&quot;And in his way tried to express that opinion that he&#39;s a brave man, a fallen hero, he knew what he was getting himself into because he enlisted... and was where he wanted to be, exactly where he wanted to be with exactly the people he wanted to be with when his life was taken. That was the message.&quot;

Kelly also noted that a president does not always call -- particularly during high-casualty wars -- but they do write letters to the family.

&quot;Typically the only phone calls the family receives are the most important phone calls they could imagine, and that is from their buddies.&quot; 
&nbsp;

A Democrat alleged that Trump had told a fallen soldier's widow that he knew what he was signing for but that it still hurt

White House chief of staff John Kelly -- a former general whose son died in Afghanistan -- made an emotive defense of Donald Trump Thursday, amid a scandal over the president's phone call with a military widow. Kelly, who spent nearly four decades in the Marine Corps, said he had advised Trump not to call the families of four servicemen killed in Niger personally, but was disgusted by how the issue had become politicised. He blamed the Democratic lawmaker who made public the contents of a call between Trump and widow Myeshia Johnson. "I was stunned when I came to work yesterday morning and brokenhearted at what I saw a member of Congress doing," he said. "A member of Congress who listened in on a phone call from the president of the United States to a young wife," he said. "Absolutely stuns me. And I thought at least that was sacred." "The only thing I could do to collect my thoughts was to go and walk among the finest men and women on this Earth. And you can always find them. Because they're in Arlington National Cemetery." Kelly said he "went over there for an hour and a half, walked among the stones, some of whom I put there because they were doing what I told them to do when they were killed." Trump kicked off the furore early this week by falsely claiming that Barack Obama and other former US leaders did not call the families of fallen soldiers. He returned to the subject in an interview with Fox News radio and brought up his chief of staff Kelly, whose son, a Marine Corps lieutenant, was killed by a landmine in Afghanistan in 2010. "You could ask General Kelly 'Did he get a call from Obama?'" Trump said. 'It still hurts' It was then alleged that during a call Trump had offended the pregnant widow of Sergeant La David Johnson, 25, who was one of four US servicemembers killed in a jihadist ambush October 4. US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Thursday that Johnson's body was "found later" by non-American forces following the ambush, which is thought to have been conducted by jihadists in an area where an Islamic State group affiliate operates. As is routine in incidents where troops are killed, the Pentagon has opened an inquiry into the soldiers' deaths. The details of Trump's call with Johnson's widow were released by Frederica Wilson, a Democratic congresswoman from Florida. "I didn't hear the whole phone call, but I did hear him say, 'I'm sure he knew what he was signing up for, but it still hurts,'" she recalled, sparking another round of controversy. The soldier's mother also suggested that the president struggled to convey an empathetic tone. "President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband," Sergeant Johnson's mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, told the Washington Post. Kelly said he had advised Trump not to make the calls: "My first recommendation was he not do it. Because it's not the phone call that parents, family members are looking forward to." But, after taking advice, Kelly said Trump "called four people the other day and expressed his condolences in the best way he could." "And in his way tried to express that opinion that he's a brave man, a fallen hero, he knew what he was getting himself into because he enlisted... and was where he wanted to be, exactly where he wanted to be with exactly the people he wanted to be with when his life was taken. That was the message." Kelly also noted that a president does not always call -- particularly during high-casualty wars -- but they do write letters to the family. "Typically the only phone calls the family receives are the most important phone calls they could imagine, and that is from their buddies."

White House chief cites son's loss in emotive Trump defense

White House chief of staff John Kelly slapped down rumours that he was about to resign or be fired and said on Thursday his push to bring more order to the West Wing does not extend to controlling President Donald Trump or his social media habits.

In a rare appearance before reporters, the retired general sought to project an aura of calm in a White House that has been criticised as chaotic.

&quot;Unless things change, I&#39;m not quitting, I`m not getting fired, and I don`t think I`ll fire anyone tomorrow,&quot; Kelly told reporters.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-replaces-chief-of-staff-reince-priebus-with-john-kelly-18371" target="_blank">Kelly replaced Trump&#39;s first chief of staff, Reince Priebus,</a> after a tumultuous first six months in office and sought to bring order to an often chaotic operation at the White House.

Under his watch, Trump parted ways with chief strategist Steve Bannon and other top officials, while new restrictions were set to streamline meetings and material for the president.&nbsp;

But reports of both Kelly&#39;s and the president&#39;s frustrations have persisted, sparking continued speculation of pending shakeups.&nbsp;

Trump has confided to friends that he has felt constrained by some of Kelly&rsquo;s moves to limit access to him and some administration officials have privately chafed at the restrictions as well, sources familiar with the internal dynamics of the White House have said.

Disarray within the executive branch has concerned officials outside the administration. Republican Senator Bob Corker has said Kelly is one of three officials including Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as &quot;those people that help separate our country from chaos.&quot;

He later told the New York Times that Trump risked setting the nation &quot;on the path to World War Three.&quot;

Critics of the president say his frequent use of Twitter has contributed to a sense of chaos.&nbsp;

But the retired Marine made clear that he did not see his job as the arbiter of Trump&#39;s tweets, pushing back at criticism that his penchant for order and organisation had not extended to control over the president`s favourite mode of social media communication.

&quot;I was not brought to this job to control anything but the flow of information to our president so that he can make the best decisions,&quot; Kelly told reporters.

&quot;I was not sent in to or brought in to control him and you should not measure my effectiveness as a chief of staff by what you think I should be doing,&quot; he said.

John Kelly slapped down rumours that he was about to resign or be fired by saying his push to bring more order to the West Wing does not extend to controlling President Donald Trump or his social media habits

White House chief of staff John Kelly slapped down rumours that he was about to resign or be fired and said on Thursday his push to bring more order to the West Wing does not extend to controlling President Donald Trump or his social media habits. In a rare appearance before reporters, the retired general sought to project an aura of calm in a White House that has been criticised as chaotic. "Unless things change, I'm not quitting, I`m not getting fired, and I don`t think I`ll fire anyone tomorrow," Kelly told reporters. Kelly replaced Trump's first chief of staff, Reince Priebus, after a tumultuous first six months in office and sought to bring order to an often chaotic operation at the White House. Under his watch, Trump parted ways with chief strategist Steve Bannon and other top officials, while new restrictions were set to streamline meetings and material for the president. But reports of both Kelly's and the president's frustrations have persisted, sparking continued speculation of pending shakeups. Trump has confided to friends that he has felt constrained by some of Kelly’s moves to limit access to him and some administration officials have privately chafed at the restrictions as well, sources familiar with the internal dynamics of the White House have said. Disarray within the executive branch has concerned officials outside the administration. Republican Senator Bob Corker has said Kelly is one of three officials including Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as "those people that help separate our country from chaos." He later told the New York Times that Trump risked setting the nation "on the path to World War Three." Critics of the president say his frequent use of Twitter has contributed to a sense of chaos. But the retired Marine made clear that he did not see his job as the arbiter of Trump's tweets, pushing back at criticism that his penchant for order and organisation had not extended to control over the president`s favourite mode of social media communication. "I was not brought to this job to control anything but the flow of information to our president so that he can make the best decisions," Kelly told reporters. "I was not sent in to or brought in to control him and you should not measure my effectiveness as a chief of staff by what you think I should be doing," he said.

White House chief of staff not quitting, says job is not to control Trump

White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci has launched a searing foul-mouthed attack on his most senior colleagues, describing one as a &quot;paranoid schizophrenic.&quot;

In an eye-watering exchange with a New Yorker reporter late Wednesday, the fast-talking Scaramucci ranted about chief of staff Reince Priebus and chief White House strategist Steve Bannon.

&quot;Reince is a (expletive) paranoid schizophrenic, a paranoiac,&quot; Scaramucci was quoted as saying in an expletive-filled tirade in which the 53-year-old accused the chief of staff of damaging information leaks.

&quot;They&#39;re trying to resist me, but it&#39;s not going to work,&quot; he said, adding that Priebus would soon resign and using language that American television networks refused to repeat.

Turning his sights on Trump&#39;s chief strategist, Scaramucci made it very clear he believes Bannon is working in the White House to serve his own interests, using particularly offensive language.

&quot;I&#39;m not Steve Bannon, I&#39;m not trying to suck my own (expletive),&quot; he said.

&quot;I&#39;m not trying to build my own brand off the (expletive) strength of the president. I&#39;m here to serve the country.&quot;

&#39;Colourful language&#39; 
 
Scaramucci, a millionaire New York financier, has arrived at the White House vowing to serve Trump&#39;s interest and right a badly faltering administration.

His appointment gives Trump not just a high-profile surrogate, but one cut from the same wheeling-dealing New York cloth as himself.

Since taking on the role, Scaramucci has run to the cameras, firing up the charm and enthusiastically hawking the administration&#39;s wares, breathing new energy into Trump&#39;s faltering White House.

The brash Long Island native also has vowed to root out the &quot;leaks&quot; that have infuriated Trump, threatened to fire anyone who fails to fall in line and signaled he is not afraid to mix it up with the big players in Trump&#39;s inner circle.

Before the revelations made by The New Yorker, he had already seemed to publicly accuse Priebus of leaking information, although that tweeted allegation was later retracted and denied.

But the revelations made by The New Yorker are likely to raise questions about how long Scaramucci -- a possible pretender to Priebus&#39;s throne -- can last in the West Wing.

Scaramucci did not apologise for the tirade, but said he would try to clean up his language in the future.

&quot;I sometimes use colourful language. I will refrain in this arena but not give up the passionate fight for @realDonaldTrump&#39;s agenda,&quot; he tweeted.

Later on, he added: &quot;I made a mistake in trusting in a reporter. It won&#39;t happen again.&quot;

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Scaramucci &quot;used some colorful language -- I don&#39;t think he will again.&quot;

For Scaramucci, his similarities to Trump may yet be his downfall.

In the billionaire president&#39;s White House, any misstep or slight -- real or imagined -- that irks the man in the Oval Office can be politically fatal.

Commentators said the new White House communications director was not expected to last long in office

White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci has launched a searing foul-mouthed attack on his most senior colleagues, describing one as a "paranoid schizophrenic." In an eye-watering exchange with a New Yorker reporter late Wednesday, the fast-talking Scaramucci ranted about chief of staff Reince Priebus and chief White House strategist Steve Bannon. "Reince is a (expletive) paranoid schizophrenic, a paranoiac," Scaramucci was quoted as saying in an expletive-filled tirade in which the 53-year-old accused the chief of staff of damaging information leaks. "They're trying to resist me, but it's not going to work," he said, adding that Priebus would soon resign and using language that American television networks refused to repeat. Turning his sights on Trump's chief strategist, Scaramucci made it very clear he believes Bannon is working in the White House to serve his own interests, using particularly offensive language. "I'm not Steve Bannon, I'm not trying to suck my own (expletive)," he said. "I'm not trying to build my own brand off the (expletive) strength of the president. I'm here to serve the country." 'Colourful language' Scaramucci, a millionaire New York financier, has arrived at the White House vowing to serve Trump's interest and right a badly faltering administration. His appointment gives Trump not just a high-profile surrogate, but one cut from the same wheeling-dealing New York cloth as himself. Since taking on the role, Scaramucci has run to the cameras, firing up the charm and enthusiastically hawking the administration's wares, breathing new energy into Trump's faltering White House. The brash Long Island native also has vowed to root out the "leaks" that have infuriated Trump, threatened to fire anyone who fails to fall in line and signaled he is not afraid to mix it up with the big players in Trump's inner circle. Before the revelations made by The New Yorker, he had already seemed to publicly accuse Priebus of leaking information, although that tweeted allegation was later retracted and denied. But the revelations made by The New Yorker are likely to raise questions about how long Scaramucci -- a possible pretender to Priebus's throne -- can last in the West Wing. Scaramucci did not apologise for the tirade, but said he would try to clean up his language in the future. "I sometimes use colourful language. I will refrain in this arena but not give up the passionate fight for @realDonaldTrump's agenda," he tweeted. Later on, he added: "I made a mistake in trusting in a reporter. It won't happen again." White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Scaramucci "used some colorful language -- I don't think he will again." For Scaramucci, his similarities to Trump may yet be his downfall. In the billionaire president's White House, any misstep or slight -- real or imagined -- that irks the man in the Oval Office can be politically fatal.

Scaramucci on Priebus: 'He's a f***ing paranoid schizophrenic'?

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White House chief cites son's loss in emotive Trump defense

White House chief of staff not quitting, says job is not to control Trump

Scaramucci on Priebus: 'He's a f***ing paranoid schizophrenic'?