John Kelly urges voters to consider ethics and character in November

Former White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly on Friday said voters need to take a careful look at who they’re planning to vote for in November and ask, “What is their character like? What are their ethics?”

Former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci interviewed Mr. Kelly who said it was important to evaluate the values and character of a candidate.

“I think we need to look harder at who we elect,” Mr. Kelly said. “I think we should look at people that are running for office and put them through the filter: What is their character like? What are their ethics?”

Mr. Kelly also doubled down on defending former Defense Secretary James Mattis who argued that President Trump is not working to unite the public.

“There is a concern, I think an awful big concern, that the partisanship has gotten out of hand, the tribal thing has gotten out of hand,” Mr. Kelly said. “He’s quite a man, Jim Mattis, and for him to do that tells you where he is relative to the concern he has for our country.”

Earlier this week, Mr. Mattis slammed Mr. Trump’s approach to the protests and unrest across the country, arguing he was “militarizing” the federal response and thereby damaging the relationship between the public and troops.

Mr. Mattis’ criticism came after Mr. Trump vowed to “dominate” unruly demonstrations across the country with military force if need be and then allowed federal law enforcement to use less-than-lethal force, including respiratory irritants and blunt munitions, to clear protesters for a photo-op at St. John’s Episcopal Church.

Mr. Kelly said were he still chief of staff, he would have pushed back against the photo-op and disagreed with the suggestion of using U.S. troops.

“The idea you would unleash American active-duty folks unless it’s an extreme situation … the troops hate it. They don’t see it as their jobs. They don’t want to be used in that way,” he said.

Both Mr. Mattis and Mr. Kelly, the president’s longest-serving chief of staff, left the White House on sour terms with the president.

In his conversation with Mr. Scaramucci, who has also come to criticize the president after leaving his position, Mr. Kelly said every relationship with Mr. Trump “deteriorates over time.”