Tillerson backs Trump as book casts mental health doubts

WASHINGTON: Washington’s chief diplomat Rex Tillerson found himself obliged to defend President Donald Trump’s fitness for office Friday after a bombshell new book called into doubt his mental health. In an extraordinary portion of a television interview on foreign policy challenges, Tillerson was asked about claims that Trump has a short attention span, regularly repeats himself and refuses to read briefing notes. “I’ve never questioned his mental fitness. I’ve had no reason to question his mental fitness,” said Tillerson, whose office was last year forced to deny reports that he had referred to Trump as a “moron” after a national security meeting.

And, even in defending Trump, the former ExxonMobil chief executive admitted he has had to learn how to relay information to a president with a very different decision-making style. “I have to learn how he takes information in, processes it and makes decisions,” Tillerson told CNN. “I’m here to serve his presidency. So I’ve had to spend a lot of time understanding how to best communicate with him.” But Tillerson emphasized the right decisions had been made and that the United States is in a stronger place internationally thanks to Trump’s policies.

‘Not a typical president’

“He is not a typical president of the past, I think that’s well recognized that’s also why the American people chose him,” he said, insisting that he does not expect to be asked to resign in the coming year. Tillerson was forced to mount his defense as Washington devoured a new supposed tell-all-Michael Wolff’s “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House”-rushed into bookstores after the White House failed to suppress it. The book quickly sold out in shops in the US capital, with some people even lining up at midnight to get their hands on it and others circulating pirated copies. —AFP