White House officials told The New York Times on Wednesday that Secretary of State John F. Kerry is privately likened to Sandra Bullock’s character Ryan Stone in the movie “Gravity,” as she flails about in the vast emptiness of space.
Writing on the Obama administration’s handling of recent crises around the world, officials told The Times, “Mr. Kerry is vocal and forceful in internal debates, officials said, but he frequently gets out of sync with the White House in his public statements.” The unnamed sources added that is jokingly said “he is like the astronaut played by Sandra Bullock in the movie ’Gravity,’ somersaulting through space, untethered to the White House.”
Aides to Mr. Kerry were not happy with the characterization. They cited a memo that the secretary wrote on how to deal with the Islamic State group as proof that he is “heavily involved” in the policymaking process, The Times reported.
“Something is very wrong when White House officials openly ridicule the Secretary of State,” Mike Doran, a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution Center for Middle East Policy, tweeted Wednesday, Business Insider reported.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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