Donald Trump dismissed reports of him firing Rex Tillerson or the Secretary of State leaving his post.
Amid speculations of Rex Tillerson being fired from his administration, US President Donald Trump spoke out in defence of his Secretary of State, dismissing the media reports as "fake news". President Trump took to Twitter to say that while the two have differing views on certain subjects, they work well together. The US President did, however, point out that he was the one who called the shots on issues they had divided opinions on.
"The media has been speculating that I fired Rex Tillerson or that he would be leaving soon - FAKE NEWS! He's not leaving and while we disagree on certain subjects, (I call the final shots) we work well together and America is highly respected again!" Donald Trump wrote on Twitter.
Rumours of Mr Tillerson's departure came from a senior Trump administration official on Thursday, who said that the White House planned on appointing CIA chief Mike Pompeo as his replacement. The New York Times, the first to report the alleged plan, said it was not immediately clear whether President Trump had approved the personnel shakeup.
Donald Trump, when earlier asked about reports of Rex Tillerson being replaced, had simply
replied saying "Rex is here", fueling the speculations further.
Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a press conference that "As the President just said, 'Rex is here,'" adding that "Secretary Tillerson continues to lead the State Department and the entire cabinet is focused on completing this incredibly successful first year of President Trump's administration."
Donald Trump and Rex Tillerson have recently aired striking differences in public, especially on the plan to counter the growing nuclear threat posed by North Korea. While the Secretary of State
has advised diplomatic channels, saying he had direct lines of communication with North Korea, President Trump and a majority of his advisers are of the view that Kim Jong Un would not be persuaded by words to rein in their missile programme.
Donald Trump, in a tweet, had said that
Mr Tillerson was "wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man." In a follow up tweet, he said "Save your energy, Rex, we'll do what has to be done." "Little Rocket Man" is
Donald Trump's nickname for North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un.Rex Tillerson has also been quoted as calling the President "a moron".
Analysts saw the rumoured move to remove Rex Tillerson as evidence that Donald Trump is trying to take more control over foreign policy by hiring people loyal to him.