Hot off the press

President Trump has ousted Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and replaced him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, orchestrating a major change to his national security team amid delicate negotiations with North Korea, White House officials said Tuesday.

Trump last Friday asked Tillerson to step aside, and the embattled top diplomat cut short his trip to Africa on Monday to return to Washington.

Remember how it was fake news when media outlets reported that Trump planned to replace Tillerson? "No...fake news. Tillerson is doing great."

Ta-da!

Hmmm, I guess Betsy Devos will have to wait till tomorrow or next week to be fired.

So how is this for International relations? Heck, Let's put the guy in charge of spying on you, in charge of negotiating with you. You should be willing to negotiate knowing that he has dirt on you right?

And so soon after fully condemning Russia for the UK poison attacks. Makes you wonder.

Trumps tweet:

"Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State. He will do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service! Gina Haspel will become the new Director of the CIA, and the first woman so chosen. Congratulations to all!"

So, he actually congratulated Tillerson for having been fired. You can't make that up.

Congratulations to all lol. Looking forward to Pompeo’s inevitable dismissal.

The Tump merry-go-round continues unabated.

"Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service!" Talk about damning with faint praise.

einsteinboricua wrote:

Remember how it was fake news when media outlets reported that Trump planned to replace Tillerson? "No...fake news. Tillerson is doing great."

Those rumors started one year ago. Talk about a broken clock...

scbriml wrote:

"Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service!" Talk about damning with faint praise.

What is remotely "damning" about this statement? That's an entirely innocuous well wish. Talk about TDS.

DfwRevolution wrote:

einsteinboricua wrote:

Remember how it was fake news when media outlets reported that Trump planned to replace Tillerson? "No...fake news. Tillerson is doing great."

Those rumors started one year ago. Talk about a broken clock...

I believe he is referring to the specific news that was reported at the end of November that was called "fake":

The White House has developed a plan to force out Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, whose relationship with President Trump has been strained, and replace him with Mike Pompeo, the C.I.A. director, perhaps within the next several weeks, senior administration officials said on Thursday.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/30/us/p ... trump.html

Trump and others responded that it was fake news, it obviously wasn't but the article and required denial by the president probably delayed his departure by several weeks.

Tugg

einsteinboricua wrote:

Remember how it was fake news when media outlets reported that Trump planned to replace Tillerson? "No...fake news. Tillerson is doing great."

Ta-da!

Actually wasn't it Mueller that media said was getting fired?

NIKV69 wrote:

einsteinboricua wrote:

Remember how it was fake news when media outlets reported that Trump planned to replace Tillerson? "No...fake news. Tillerson is doing great."

Ta-da!

Actually wasn't it Mueller that media said was getting fired?

No, in regards to this story, it wasn't actually. .

Tugg

Sounds like Pompeo's the perfect yes man for Trump.

"We're always on the same wavelength."

No chaos here folks!!


When Tillerson writes a book it will certainly be an interesting read.

The firings will continue until morale improves...

Funny that this came after reports that Tillerson was chosen because Putin 'vetoed' the first choice (which probably would have been Romney).
Tillerson was seen as much more sympathetic to Russia, due to his previous dealings with Russia and encounters with Putin.

NIKV69 wrote:

einsteinboricua wrote:

Remember how it was fake news when media outlets reported that Trump planned to replace Tillerson? "No...fake news. Tillerson is doing great."

Ta-da!

Actually wasn't it Mueller that media said was getting fired?

Nope. And since you probably can't remember back to December. Here it is from the Tweet.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/sta ... 4046266368

Its getting to the point that anything Trump calls fake news is almost guaranteed to be true. How anyone thinks he has any credibility left is beyond me. I guess willful ignorance is the name of the game amongst Trump supporters.

DfwRevolution wrote:

scbriml wrote:

"Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service!" Talk about damning with faint praise.

What is remotely "damning" about this statement? That's an entirely innocuous well wish. Talk about TDS.

Seriously, you've never heard the expression before?

Damning with faint praise - saying something that sounds like a compliment, but really isn't.

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dicti ... int-praise
Example of damning with faint praise - "Her latest book was not the worst I've ever read."

TDS? Nah.

casinterest wrote:

Nope. And since you probably can't remember back to December. Here it is from the Tweet.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/sta ... 4046266368

Ah the internet...Trump country still has no idea of how it works, and how once something is entered, it's there permanently.

Waiting for the White House and/or Trump to say that they never said the reports were fake or that they had a good relationship with Tillerson.

Fine tuned machine I see.

casinterest wrote:

Actually wasn't it Mueller that media said was getting fired?

Nope. And since you probably can't remember back to December. Here it is from the Tweet.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/sta ... 4046266368[/quote]

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles ... ller-again

scbriml wrote:

TDS? Nah.

Remember, for a certain subset of people here anything can be perceived as making you "against Trump" (and of course unfairly/undeservedly so). The response is almost always something like "but Clinton/Obama" or Dfw's like "TDS", respond "you just hate Trump/can't accept his absolute greatness" etc. Very simplistic responses without any real insight (just soundbites really, like tweets).

It has becomes fun to watch.

Tugg

NIKV69 wrote:

NIKV69 wrote:

Actually wasn't it Mueller that media said was getting fired?

casinterest wrote:

Nope. And since you probably can't remember back to December. Here it is from the Tweet.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/sta ... 4046266368

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles ... ller-again

And?

You don't understand what this discussion is actually about? It is about Tillerson being fired/removed from service. And you are bringing something completely unrelated?

Tugg

DfwRevolution wrote:

einsteinboricua wrote:

Remember how it was fake news when media outlets reported that Trump planned to replace Tillerson? "No...fake news. Tillerson is doing great."

Those rumors started one year ago. Talk about a broken clock...

Wait who is the broken clock in this situation? Because you could say just about anyone is getting fired in this admin at this point and you’d likely be right every time.

NIKV69 wrote:

casinterest wrote:

NIKV69 wrote:

Actually wasn't it Mueller that media said was getting fired?

Nope. And since you probably can't remember back to December. Here it is from the Tweet.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/sta ... 4046266368

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles ... ller-again

This thread isn't about Mueller. Why do you have such a short attention span?

Everyone knows Trump wants to fire Mueller. There is no fake news there. Trump just can't do it since he will be instantly guilty.

scbriml wrote:

DfwRevolution wrote:

scbriml wrote:

"Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service!" Talk about damning with faint praise.

What is remotely "damning" about this statement? That's an entirely innocuous well wish. Talk about TDS.

Seriously, you've never heard the expression before?

Damning with faint praise - saying something that sounds like a compliment, but really isn't.:

I understand the expression. Why are you assuming Trump's comment is insincere?

It's perfectly normal to thank someone when they are leaving a role.

DfwRevolution wrote:

Why are you assuming Trump's comment is insincere?

DfwRevolution wrote:

scbriml wrote:

DfwRevolution wrote:

What is remotely "damning" about this statement? That's an entirely innocuous well wish. Talk about TDS.

Seriously, you've never heard the expression before?

Damning with faint praise - saying something that sounds like a compliment, but really isn't.:

I understand the expression. Why are you assuming Trump's comment is insincere?

It's perfectly normal to thank someone when they are leaving a role.

Alarms must be going off in Coppell! Time to defend!!!! Sleeping giants awake!!!!

Lol. Yesterday, Tillerson condemns Russia for their actions in the UK. Today Tillerson gets fired. NO COLLUSION GUYS

And he's gone..............

Is there anybody left in this administration?

DfwRevolution wrote:

Why are you assuming Trump's comment is insincere?
It's perfectly normal to thank someone when they are leaving a role.

Maybe because it is public knowledge that there is no love lost between the two (and please do not even try to argue that this is not the case)? Trump dislikes Tillerson because he actually is not a sycophant, and Tillerson realised that there was nothing capable of synthesising anything remotely intelligent and decent between the ears of the man who currently occupies the position of POTUS.
While Tillerson is apparently not an effective and well-supported SecState as he tried to push through drastic reduction in State Department budget, at least he should be recognised as a man who has some integrity and self-respect, and someone who persevered even when his boss publicly undermined his initiatives. Now a noted hawk will become US's top diplomat just when North Korea is showing some signs of backing down from their nuclear armament, what can possibly go wrong?

DfwRevolution wrote:

Why are you assuming Trump's comment is insincere?

It's perfectly normal to thank someone when they are leaving a role.

Even Foxnews thinks it was poor form:

Trump announces Tillerson sacked from State Department with undiplomatic tweet

President Trump on Tuesday unceremoniously fired his embattled top diplomat Rex Tillerson as secretary of state and said he would replace him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

The president announced his ousting of Tillerson on Twitter. Tillerson was unaware of the reason for being fired when Trump went public with the news, a State Department spokesman said.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/03 ... ompeo.html

Tugg

I'm doubly disappointed - firstly because Tillerson was a level-headed and competent individual who, while not always publicly visible, was doing good work. My second disappointment is that the obvious choice for his replacement, Ambassador Nikki Haley, was not tapped for the role.

One thing that baffles me. Did Trump not vet this guy thoroughly before selecting him? How did Trump not realize that he would have problems with this guy when he hired him? Something doesn't seem right here. I wonder how much time Trump took to pick some of these people. Tillerson is the obvious one, but Trump cant stand Sessions either. He had to fire other cabinet members as well. This does not make Trump look good at all. And honestly, I cant defend him on this. Nor can I defend a lot of crap he does.

You wonder if Obama winning a second term was a good thing for this country. If Mitt Romney had been elected, we would not have Trump today.

apodino wrote:

One thing that baffles me. Did Trump not vet this guy thoroughly before selecting him? How did Trump not realize that he would have problems with this guy when he hired him? Something doesn't seem right here. I wonder how much time Trump took to pick some of these people. Tillerson is the obvious one, but Trump cant stand Sessions either. He had to fire other cabinet members as well. This does not make Trump look good at all. And honestly, I cant defend him on this. Nor can I defend a lot of crap he does.

You wonder if Obama winning a second term was a good thing for this country. If Mitt Romney had been elected, we would not have Trump today.

Trump didn't vet anyone. The administration settled for the few sycophants who were willing to sacrifice their careers to work for him. Hope Hicks' professional life is over. She ought to go back to Greenwich and marry up while she still has her looks. That McEntee character who was sacked today is going to be hawking cars or residential real estate for the next 50 years.

apodino wrote:

One thing that baffles me. Did Trump not vet this guy thoroughly before selecting him? .

Does he vet anyone? I seriously wonder who is doing the selecting/vetting outside of Trump's immediate relatives

And now he's also fired his personal assistant who is under investigation for financial crimes:
https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/13/politics ... index.html

But it's OK, the assistant was simply moved over to the Trump campaign... What an absolute circus of idiots.

apodino wrote:

One thing that baffles me. Did Trump not vet this guy thoroughly before selecting him? How did Trump not realize that he would have problems with this guy when he hired him? Something doesn't seem right here.

You're just catching on? The moment Trump nominated Tillerson, every one with a brain asked "why him?". Up until his nomination, Tillerson and Trump had never even met. But what were we told? "He's a CEO so he's perfect for the job because a CEO engages in deals AND has to oversee projects around the world". CLEARLY, that has worked out.

apodino wrote:

Tillerson is the obvious one, but Trump cant stand Sessions either.

There's a video on YouTube from CGP Grey that talks about why this happens. Trump was eager to have Sessions be the first mainstream Republican in Congress to endorse him. But as CGP explains: the keys to GAIN power are not the same keys to KEEP power. Sessions helped Trump get elected; Trump rewarded Sessions, but the way Trump has been behaving, it's clear he has no use for Sessions anymore and if it weren't for the fact that to fire Sessions would be a political scandal, he's pushing him out by keeping the pressure on him. It was the same reason Chris Christie went nowhere with Trump: after being named transition director, he was replaced by Pence. "Thanks for the support Christie, but you're out".

apodino wrote:

You wonder if Obama winning a second term was a good thing for this country. If Mitt Romney had been elected, we would not have Trump today.

You don't know that. You don't know if Trump would have still been the insurgent candidate against the establishment Republican president. Republicans (and people overall) had a choice between sensible Republicans, wackos, and has-beens. They chose the wackiest of the wackiest for reasons that, to this day, still don't make sense (as my manager would say: "F**k politicians"). If they wanted a Mitt Romney, they had plenty of Mitt Romneys to pick.

Pompano is a strong supporter of the USA invading Iran and destroying their nuke works. How long before we are bombing there ? Maybe another 'October Surprise' ? At least with today's firings, none of them will face artillery, hanging or a firing squad.

What I worry about is how Trump is destroying the bureaucracy of and what little respect the USA had left that is necessary for it to function. Eventually it will hurt the stock market, causing a major economic crash, will be more wars and conflicts continuing, expanding and initiating while real needs of our citizens will be ignored. I just hope we can save this country from this sadistic, sick SOB that a minority of Americans chose.

Steve Goldstein who tweeted that Tillerson didn't know he was getting fired , has now been fired.

The firing continues from the white house.

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ ... D=ref_fark

einsteinboricua wrote:

apodino wrote:

One thing that baffles me. Did Trump not vet this guy thoroughly before selecting him? How did Trump not realize that he would have problems with this guy when he hired him? Something doesn't seem right here.

You're just catching on? The moment Trump nominated Tillerson, every one with a brain asked "why him?". Up until his nomination, Tillerson and Trump had never even met. But what were we told? "He's a CEO so he's perfect for the job because a CEO engages in deals AND has to oversee projects around the world". CLEARLY, that has worked out.

To be fair most cabinet members don't meet or know the President on a personal level until they are vetted and courted for the position. Same with judges from top to bottom. That one fact isn't an indication of the quality of the candidate.

They are both just political "road kill", lots more to come before he leaves office. Would be interesting if Bob Woodward wrote Tillersons time there.

CCGPV wrote:

To be fair most cabinet members don't meet or know the President on a personal level until they are vetted and courted for the position. Same with judges from top to bottom. That one fact isn't an indication of the quality of the candidate.

No...but usually cabinet members have been either in the spotlight for being from DC, a state official, or having made a name for themselves for their work. Before Trump nominated Tillerson, I didn't even know who he was. And that's not a big deal...but a CEO would have probably been a better suit for something related to the economy, not diplomacy. Name Tillerson to Treasury? Makes sense. Exxon CEO to Department of Energy? Makes sense (not ethical, but I could see the logic). A CEO as the nation's top diplomat? Nope.

As for judges, usually judges are recommended to district courts by the state's Congressional delegation (namely the state's senators who provide a list of alternatives suitable to both). For circuit courts and the SCOTUS, judges elevated are those who have already served in a lower branch or have served in a law-related position at the federal level. You won't see a district judge immediately promoted to SCOTUS justice unless they've already served years upon years. I get the whole "rock the establishment", but for something as revered as the courts, I'd prefer it be the last thing that falls to partisan games or unconventional promotions (heck, why can't I serve as a SCOTUS justice?).

zkojq wrote:

When Tillerson writes a book it will certainly be an interesting read.

"How I was fired by Putin."

SCNR.

DfwRevolution wrote:

I understand the expression. Why are you assuming Trump's comment is insincere?

It's perfectly normal to thank someone when they are leaving a role.

It is perfectly normal to thank them when they are retiring for stepping down, now when you fire them.

jetwet1 wrote:

It is perfectly normal to thank them when they are retiring for stepping down, now when you fire them.

Look around for politicians that were forced to go. similar to a burial: for the dead only nice words.
But note that the camera is cut when they turn. You don't get to see the boot sticking out the rear.

DfwRevolution wrote:

I understand the expression. Why are you assuming Trump's comment is insincere?

It's perfectly normal to thank someone when they are leaving a role.

Can you really not see what's right in front of your own face?

Someone left the clown in charge of the circus.

scbriml wrote:

DfwRevolution wrote:

I understand the expression. Why are you assuming Trump's comment is insincere?

It's perfectly normal to thank someone when they are leaving a role.

Can you really not see what's right in front of your own face?

Someone left the clown in charge of the circus.

Worse. We actually elected him!

Dutchy wrote:

And he's gone..............

Is there anybody left in this administration?

Mattis is the last decent person. He's popular amongst the men and women of the DoD and I like him because a true soldier (in the all encompassing definition) advocates peace talks, which he (and Tillerson) did for North Korea.

How long you wanna bet before T-Rex goes to Mueller to testify? I say one week at the most.

Someone on the radio made an observation that, at this rate, every one of us can say that we worked in the tRump White House.

Here is a shock to no one at all:

https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/30/politics ... index.html

From the article ...Pompeo once again warned that Russia will attempt to meddle in the 2018 US midterm elections..."

And he met with Russian spies.

Russia 'elected' a spy to be their head of state, now the US has placed a spy as their most prominent foreign official, whilst placing a torturer as their new head of spying. If someone had put that plot in a novel, they'd be laughed out of town.