Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House

by Omarosa Manigault Newman

When Trump said, “The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea,” General Kelly dropped his face into his hands, a gesture that became known as the facepalm felt around the world. However, the truth is, Kelly was not necessarily as exasperated as he appeared. Rumors circulated around the West Wing that Kelly suffers from excruciating migraines—which possibly began during his military service—and he was in the throes of one of those episodes at the assembly. According to a source close to Kelly, the stress of his new role, the noise and light in the room, and the pressure triggered the migraine and he had no choice but to sit there and suffer through it. As bad as it was to put his face in his hands, it would have looked far worse if he’d walked out. As an officer, his service is compromised by this affliction, and he doesn’t talk about it and prefers to appear to be made of stone. But when he gets a headache at work, he is vicious, bordering on cruel to his staff.