Tillerson Says He Had To Repeatedly Remind Trump Suggested Actions Would Violate The Law
- 5 years ago
Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson recently spoke freely about his experience working for an “undisciplined” president.
Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Thursday spoke freely about his experience working for an "undisciplined" president who "doesn't like to read," reports CBS News. Tillerson, who was fired by President Trump in March, said during an interview at a benefit for the MD Anderson Cancer Center that his past job was "challenging." He went on to note that Trump is "a man who's pretty undisciplined, doesn't like to read, doesn't read briefing reports, doesn't like to get into the details of a lot of things but rather just says, 'this is what I believe.'" The former secretary of state further commented: "When the president would say, 'here's what I want to do and here's how I want to do it,' and I would have to say to him, 'Mr. President, I understand what you want to do, but you can't do it that way. It violates the law.'" In regard to Trump's Twitter habit, Tillerson said: "I will be honest with you. It troubles me that the American people seem to want to know so little about issues, that they are satisfied with 128 characters…I don't want that to come across as a criticism of him. It's really a concern that I have about us as Americans and us as a society and us as citizens." Tillerson and Trump had some rocky moments and held divergent views on some important matters. Those included Russia's meddling in the 2016 US election, which Trump has repeatedly questioned, the president's decision to withdraw the US from the Paris climate accord, and Saudi Arabia's dispute with Qatar. Tillerson was fired without a clear warning, according to the New York Times.
Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Thursday spoke freely about his experience working for an "undisciplined" president who "doesn't like to read," reports CBS News. Tillerson, who was fired by President Trump in March, said during an interview at a benefit for the MD Anderson Cancer Center that his past job was "challenging." He went on to note that Trump is "a man who's pretty undisciplined, doesn't like to read, doesn't read briefing reports, doesn't like to get into the details of a lot of things but rather just says, 'this is what I believe.'" The former secretary of state further commented: "When the president would say, 'here's what I want to do and here's how I want to do it,' and I would have to say to him, 'Mr. President, I understand what you want to do, but you can't do it that way. It violates the law.'" In regard to Trump's Twitter habit, Tillerson said: "I will be honest with you. It troubles me that the American people seem to want to know so little about issues, that they are satisfied with 128 characters…I don't want that to come across as a criticism of him. It's really a concern that I have about us as Americans and us as a society and us as citizens." Tillerson and Trump had some rocky moments and held divergent views on some important matters. Those included Russia's meddling in the 2016 US election, which Trump has repeatedly questioned, the president's decision to withdraw the US from the Paris climate accord, and Saudi Arabia's dispute with Qatar. Tillerson was fired without a clear warning, according to the New York Times.