Tag Archives: Rex Tillerson

State Department Observes Human Rights Day

The Trump administration last week pulled out of the United Nations Global Compact On Migration, a 2016 193-nation agreement “pledging to uphold the rights of refugees, help them resettle and ensure they had access to education and jobs.” And in standard Trumpian hypocrisy, today we get this from the State Department: Sixty-nine years ago today, in the aftermath of World …

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US Pulls Out Of UN Global Compact On Migration

The Guardian reports: The Trump administration has pulled out of the United Nations’ ambitious plans to create a more humane global strategy on migration, saying involvement in the process interferes with American sovereignty, and runs counter to US immigration policies. The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, informed the UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, at the weekend that Donald …

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Trump: It’s Fake News That I’m Booting Rex Tillerson

But nothing about Michael Flynn so far. The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump says media speculation that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will leave his job soon is “fake news.” Trump is responding on Twitter to widespread reports attributed to White House officials describing a plan to oust Tillerson and replace him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo. Trump says …

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BREAKING: Rex Tillerson To Be Forced Out

The New York Times reports: 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. Mr. Pompeo would be replaced at the C.I.A. by Senator …

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Tillerson Observes Transgender Day Of Remembrance: The United States Honors The Memory Of Those Killed

Via State Department press release: On Transgender Day of Remembrance, the United States honors the memory of the many transgender individuals who have lost their lives to acts of violence. Transgender individuals and their advocates, along with lesbian, gay, bisexual and intersex persons, are facing increasing physical attacks and arbitrary arrests in many parts of the world. Often these attacks …

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Tillerson Again Refuses To Deny “Moron” Insult [VIDEO]

Mediaite reports: Jake Tapper asked Secretary of State Rex Tillerson this morning rather directly if he did, in fact, call President Trump a moron. Tillerson did not deny it last week, and despite how much Jake Tapper pressed him on it this morning, Tillerson refused to “dignify the question.” Tapper made it abundantly clear to him that if he continues …

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REPORT: Rex Tillerson’s “Moron” Comment Came After Trump Demanded 10-Fold Increase In Nuclear Arsenal

NBC News reports: President Donald Trump said he wanted what amounted to a nearly tenfold increase in the U.S. nuclear arsenal during a gathering this past summer of the nation’s highest ranking national security leaders, according to three officials who were in the room. Trump’s comments, the officials said, came in response to a briefing slide he was shown that …

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White House: Trump’s IQ Test Challenge Was A Joke

The Hill reports: President Trump did not imply he was smarter than Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, his top spokesperson said Tuesday, claiming his offer for both to take an IQ test was a joke. “The president certainly never implied that the secretary of State was not intelligent. He made a joke. Nothing more than that,” White House press secretary …

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Trump Challenges Rex Tillerson To An “IQ Test”

The Washington Post reports: President Trump proposed an “IQ tests” face-off with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson after the nation’s top diplomat reportedly called the president a “moron” and disparaged his grasp on foreign policy. In an interview with Forbes magazine published Tuesday, Trump fired a shot at Tillerson over the “moron” revelation, first reported by NBC News and confirmed …

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Maxine Waters To Rex Tillerson: Bye Felicia!

The Washington Times reports: Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., tweeted “Bye Felicia” to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Friday afternoon after declaring the top diplomat’s strategy to handling Russia had failed. “Tillerson’s plans are backfiring. Russia sanctions still in place, State is in shambles, & he discovered his boss is a moron. Bye Felicia!” Waters tweeted. The term “bye Felicia” was …

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TICK TOCK: Trump Furious With Rex Tillerson After “Moron” Flap Steals Headlines During Las Vegas Visit

Axios reports: Trump advisers and allies are floating the idea of replacing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, age 53 — someone who’s already around the table in the Situation Room, and could make the switch without chaos. Sources tell us Trump recognizes that a Cabinet shuffle would bring bad press. White House Chief of Staff …

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LIVE VIDEO: White House Press Briefing

Via Mediaite: Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders will hold a briefing today to discuss the White House’s latest plans and administrative agenda. Today’s briefing is likely to gravitate around the gun control debate that continues to follow the shooting in Las Vegas. The massacre is still being investigated, though there has been a great deal of intrigue surrounding the bump …

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Trump Predictably Explodes Over Tillerson/Moron Report

Trump is rage-tweeting from Air Force One on his way to visit Las Vegas victims. Seriously. CNBC reports: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday said he has “never considered leaving” his job and is committed to President Donald Trump’s foreign policy goals. On Wednesday, NBC News reported that Tillerson came close to resigning this summer but was urged to …

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REPORT: Rex Tillerson Called Trump A “Moron”

NBC News reports: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was on the verge of resigning this past summer amid mounting policy disputes and clashes with the White House, according to multiple senior administration officials who were aware of the situation at the time. The tensions came to a head around the time President Donald Trump delivered a politicized speech in late …

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Putin Regrets Awarding Tillerson Russia’s Order Of Friendship: He’s Fallen In With The Wrong Company

Reuters reports: Vladimir Putin took a jab at Rex Tillerson on Thursday, joking that the U.S. Secretary of State had “fallen in with the wrong company” since he had awarded him a Russian state honor for his contribution to Russian-U.S. relations. Hopes of detente in Moscow’s relations with Washington under Donald Trump, who had praised President Putin before winning the …

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US Expels Russian Diplomats In NYC, DC, And SF

USA Today reports: The Trump administration retaliated Thursday against Russia’s expulsion of U.S. diplomats ordering the Russian consulate in San Francisco closed and reducing the number of Russians in the Washington, D.C., embassy and consulate in New York. The closures will need to happen by Saturday, the State Department said. Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the move brings the U.S. and …

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REPORT: Tillerson Is Next On The Chopping Block

Axios reports: There’s a ticking problem with Rex Tillerson, and it’s growing louder by the day, according to officials inside and close to the White House. President Trump has been growing increasingly frustrated with his Secretary of State. Recently, after Trump had returned from a meeting on Afghanistan, a source recalled Trump saying, “Rex just doesn’t get it, he’s totally …

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Tillerson Backs Away: The President Speaks For Himself

The AFP reports: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson defended American values on Sunday after a UN panel criticized the official response to racist violence — but conspicuously declined to speak for President Donald Trump. Asked on Fox News Sunday whether Trump’s stance had made it harder for Washington’s top diplomat to promote US values around the world, Tillerson spoke for …

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Rex Tillerson: Trump Just Sent North Korea A “Strong Message” In Language Kim Jong Un Would Understand

CNBC reports: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says he doesn’t believe there is “any imminent threat” from North Korea, including to the U.S. territory of Guam. Tillerson says that “Americans should sleep well at night.” He says that they should “have no concerns about this particular rhetoric of the last few days.” Tillerson spoke to reporters Wednesday after President Donald …

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Rex Tillerson Spurns $80M Earmarked To Fight Russian Disinformation Campaigns, Funds To Expire Next Month

Politico reports: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is resisting the pleas of State Department officials to spend nearly $80 million allocated by Congress for fighting terrorist propaganda and Russian disinformation. It is highly unusual for a Cabinet secretary to turn down money for his department. But more than five months into his tenure, Tillerson has not issued a simple request …

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