Trump slams Rex Tillerson as ‘dumb as a rock’
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump lashed out Thursday at former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, calling him “dumb as a rock” and claiming the former diplomat lied when he claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin was more prepared than Trump for a meeting in Germany.
“Rex Tillerson, a man who is ‘dumb as a rock’ and totally ill prepared and ill equipped to be Secretary of State, made up a story (he got fired) that I was out-prepared by Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Hamburg, Germany,” Trump wrote on Twitter.
“I don’t think Putin would agree,” he said. “Look how the U.S. is doing!”
Tillerson, who served as Trump’s first secretary of state until Trump fired him in 2018, told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee this week that Trump’s lack of preparation for the meeting with Putin left him at a serious disadvantage. Tillerson spoke to the committee at the request of its chairman, Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y.
His voluntary appearance was in contrast to a number of former and current Trump administration officials who refused congressional requests to come before committees and provide documents to lawmakers.
Tillerson has remained mostly quiet about Trump since his exit from the administration. He and the president had an often rocky relationship during his 13 months as the nation’s top diplomat.
Tillerson was the chief executive officer of ExxonMobil when Trump picked him in December 2016 to serve as secretary of state.
In announcing the appointment, Trump praised Tillerson as “a worldclass player” who had led one of the world’s largest corporations.