Rex Tillerson has been removed as the Secretary of State, ending a tumultuous tenure as America’ s top diplomat that was marked by a series of public disagreements with his boss — President Donald Trump .
Trump plans to appoint CIA Director Mike Pompeo to replace the former Exxon Mobil chief executive . The president picked deputy CIA Director Gina Haspel to run the spy agency .
READ ALSO : Husband of late banker releases wife ’s ‘suicide note ’
Just on Monday, March 12 , Tillerson visited Nigeria on the last leg of his official visits to Africa, being the first high-ranking official under the Trump administration to do so.
He met President Muhammadu Buhari during the visit , where they discussed issues of mutual interest to both countries.
The ex -Secretary of State had also warned Nigeria and the rest of Africa against accessing financial help from China .
Trump announced Tillerson ’ s sacking via his verified Twitter handle :
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@ realDonaldTrump) March 13 , 2018
As reported by the CNBC, since Tillerson took the post in February 2017 , mixed messages repeatedly came out of the White House and a State Department with diminishing relevance. The intramural clashes between the president and secretary of State came amid major international crises, including a potential nuclear showdown with North Korea .
READ ALSO: Presidency bars PUNCH, others from covering Buhari ’s Benue visit
The Daily Mail mentioned the rift between Trump and Tillerson , quoting the ousted Secretary of State as saying, “ The decision to meet North Korean dictator Kim Jong - Un for talks was all down to President Trump himself.” Tillerson reportedly said this on Friday.
He reportedly said Trump had been open to talks ‘ for some time ’, despite saying just hours before the announcement that the US was ‘a long way from negotiations’ with North Korea .
READ ALSO : America doesn ’t deserve a president like Trump —Hillary
The White House confirmed on Thursday evening that the President had accepted an invitation from Kim Jong - Un to meet, but did not specify a time and place .
Speaking to reporters during a visit to the African nation of Djibouti, Tillerson said the talks between the two world leaders will take ‘ some weeks’ to arrange
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: WHO warns against unknown Disease X
‘That is a decision the president took himself. I spoke to him very early this morning about that decision and we had a very good conversation ,’ Tillerson said .
No comments:
Post a Comment