Report: President Trump Growing Increasingly Frustrated With Secretary of State Tillerson
Last month, the State Department was combating rumors that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was planning to resign.Now, reports indicate that President Trump is growing increasingly frustrated with Tillerson due to his ‘establishment thinking.’
A source tells Axios that Trump said “Rex just doesn’t get it, he’s totally establishment in his thinking,” upon returning from a meeting regarding a new Afghanistan strategy.
Axios reports:
There’s a ticking problem with Rex Tillerson, and it’s growing louder by the day, according to officials inside and close to the White House.
President Trump has been growing increasingly frustrated with his Secretary of State. One time recently, after Trump had returned from a meeting on Afghanistan, a source recalled Trump saying, “Rex just doesn’t get it, he’s totally establishment in his thinking.”
Axios reports that they’ve heard a number of reasons from various sources indicating why Trump is growing weary of Tillerson – ranging from his inability to fill key posts, disagreements over re-certification of the Iran nuclear deal, and a downgrade in morale at the department.
During an interview with Fox News’ Chris Wallace, the Secretary of State seemed to defend the government in general when it came to a response to the racist riots in Charlottesville, but hung the president out to dry.
“I don’t believe anyone doubts the American people’s values or the commitment of the American government, or the government’s agencies to advancing those values and defending those values,” Tillerson said.
But when asked a follow-up regarding the president, Tillerson simply stated “The president speaks for himself.”
In the meantime, Trump has invited Tillerson to a weekly luncheon with Vice President Mike Pence later this afternoon.
It should be an interesting conversation. There are rumors that President Trump has been considering replacing Tillerson with U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. I guess we’ll have to see if those rumors become reality
