DISSING TRUMP LED TO ‘REX’-IT

Anyone wanting to know why President Trump fired Rex Tillerson need look no further than The New York Times. Its headlines on the move featured two claims: Tillerson and Trump were “often at odds” and Tillerson was among the “most well-regarded cabinet choices.”

The first claim is completely true. The second is true only among Trump critics, meaning Tillerson was well-regarded by the wrong people, including the Times.

Which is why he is soon-to-be the former secretary of state.

An insider tells me the president felt for some time that Tillerson had his own foreign policy. Their differences infected most key issues: the Iranian nuclear pact, moving our embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the climate accord, trade deals, China.

In each case, Tillerson, the exhead of Exxon, generally defended the status quo that Trump wants to upset. He also had a bad habit, I’m told, of conveying his doubts about Trump’s policies to foreign officials.

That’s a no-no and Trump simply grew tired of being undercut, especially as he prepares for his planned meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un.

Tillerson’s replacement is CIA head Mike Pompeo, whose hawkish forcefulness Trump admires. Other than Chief of Staff John Kelly, Pompeo probably has spent more time with the president than any other official because he personally presents the daily intelligence brief.

As such, the change reflects the education of a president. Trump is no longer the rookie boss in the Oval Office who even considered Mitt Romney before picking Tillerson. At least in this case, he now knows what he wants, and who.

The switch, though brutally announced by a tweet, is a hopeful sign for America. If Pompeo is as good as advertised, he will be one of Trump’s most consequential appointments.