Analysis: Split growing in White House between globalists and nationalists

Posted by riyadhassan on November 16th, 2018

This week, a well-documented shouting match erupted between White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and National Security Adviser John Bolton over the “migrant caravan” moving toward the Southern border of the United States.

The media has reported the flare of tempers as a rivalry inside a fractious and chaotic White House, but it actually represents a deeper division among the advisers surrounding President Trump.

When President Trump took office, he was forced to take on many holdovers from the establishment, globalist wing of the Republican Party. While many of these globalists have since left the White House, a good number remain.

Kelly and his former colleague at the Department of Homeland Security, Kirstjen Nielsen, have been under fire because of their lackluster response to the ongoing migrant caravan crisis, and Bolton has taken the role of criticizing the two.

Bolton, like President Trump, understands that one of the top priorities of the American People is to secure the border. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that immigration rated above even jobs and the economy as the most important midterm issue.

Members of the globalist wing would rather take a softer approach to the border, which places them at odds with Bolton and the President.

Thus far, Kelly and Nielsen have chosen to be upfront about their allegiances, but what remains to be seen is where others in the administration land on the globalist versus conservative dynamic in the White House.

In the coming months, the fissure is expected to widen and more globalists in the administration could come forward.