Tillerson learns of his sacking through tweet
DONALD Trump didn’t even bother to talk to Rex Tillerson before announcing to the world the US Secretary of State had been dismissed.
The manner of Mr Tillerson’s dismissal came under scrutiny yesterday as it emerged he found out he had lost his job when a top aide showed him a tweet from the US President.
In a farewell speech at the State Department, Mr Tillerson said the President had called him from Air Force One shortly after midday – more than three hours after his announcement on Twitter.
“I’ll now return to private life as a private citizen, as a proud American, proud of the opportunity I had to serve my country,” Mr Tillerson said.
He thanked his fellow diplomats, State Department colleagues and the American people. Notably, he did not thank Mr Trump.
The sacking wasn’t entirely without warning. According to the New York Times, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly had warned Mr Tillerson something was coming in a phone call on Friday.
“You may get a tweet,” Mr Kelly reportedly told him.
Another top State Department official was also fired after issuing an extraordinary statement following Mr Tillerson’s dismissal.
Steve Goldstein, the undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, told media that Mr Tillerson “had every intention of staying because of critical
progress made in national security” and said the Secretary of State “did not speak to the President and was unaware of the reason” for his sacking.
Shortly after, the White House told Mr Goldstein he too was fired.
Mr Trump told reporters he made the decision to oust Mr Tillerson “by myself”.
He said Mr Tillerson would
be “much happier now,” acknowledging the pair had butted heads on issues.
“We’ve been talking about this for a long time ... we disagreed on things ... the Iran deal ... so we were not thinking the same,” Mr Trump said.
He and Mr Tillerson’s replacement, CIA Director Mike Pompeo, shared “a similar thought process” and his new
appointment was a man with “tremendous energy, tremendous intellect” and “we’re always on the same wavelength”.
A senior administration source said Mr Trump had decided on the ouster to “have his new team in place in advance of the upcoming talks with North Korea and various ongoing trade negotiations”.
Mr Tillerson appeared
blindsided last week by Mr Trump’s historic decision to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The former head of ExxonMobil, Mr Tillerson reportedly called Mr Trump a “moron” after a July 20 meeting with the US President.
He has refused to deny making the comment despite numerous opportunities.