Reince Priebus served as President Donald Trump’s Chief of Staff for just six months, but it must have felt like a lifetime.
The former RNC chairman either retired or was ousted on Thursday, depending on whose side of the story you believe, just days after Trump’s new Director of Communications Anthony Scaramucci called him a “schizophrenic paranoiac” in an interview with the New Yorker.
Trump replaced Priebus almost immediately with retired general John F. Kelly, who Trump had originally chosen to be his Secretary of Homeland Security. It was a move that drew less controversy than most of Trump’s decisions, winning praise from several commentators. Liberal website Vox called Kelly “the perfect pick for Chief of Staff.”
Piers Morgan, a known supporter of Donald Trump, joined this chorus, comparing Kelly to another beloved Chief of Staff… The fictional Leo McGarry of The West Wing, played by the late John Spencer.
Gen. John Kelly is now Trump's Leo McGarry: tough, no-drama operator who he properly trusts. #WestWing pic.twitter.com/Dog1qk4UKO
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 28, 2017
Bradley Whitford, who played Leo’s deputy on the show, made clear his distaste for the comparison, tweeting “On Behalf of the Acting President Of The United States, don’t invoke Leo McGarry with anything to do with this hateful administration.”
On Behalf of the Acting President Of The United States, don't invoke Leo McGarry with anything to do with this hateful administration. https://t.co/RjXvdJJYQB
— Bradley Whitford (@BradleyWhitford) July 29, 2017
Did Piers Morgan let Whitford have the final word? Of course not. Invoking Leo McGarry’s background as an Air Force pilot during Vietnam, Morgan argued that the fictional character would actually be proud to be compared to “one of America’s finest military men.”
I'm sure Leo, a former US Air Force war hero, wouldn't mind being compared to one of America's finest military men. https://t.co/qXqWq09rf6
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 29, 2017
Whitford wasn’t the only star of the show that Morgan baited into a response, also drawing out Richard Schiff when he compared Anthony Scaramucci to his character, Toby Ziegler. Schiff instead referenced House of Cards character Doug Stamper in his response, once again refusing Morgan’s comparison.
He's Doug Stamper minus a brain. @michaeljkellyjr @HouseofCards https://t.co/DxkLG3HVJs
— Richard Schiff (@Richard_Schiff) July 29, 2017
And it was’t just The West Wing actors that took issue with Morgan’s analogies. Parks and Rec star Adam Scott wrote that: “Not one person associated with this administration deserves to be in the same sentence as Leo.”
This prompted Morgan to ask Scott if he was aware that Leo didn’t really exist, which seemed sort of dumb given that Morgan was the one who brought it up in the first place.
Nope–not one person associated with this diarrhea bomb of an administration deserves to be in the same sentence as Leo. https://t.co/BaemrTQDTk
— Adam Scott (@mradamscott) July 29, 2017
Adam, you realise Leo didn't actually exist – right? https://t.co/9MNUiwzoWS
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 29, 2017
Ah, politics in 2017.
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