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talkpoliticsSo TexRex calls Trump a moron ages ago, gets to keep his job. Then he calls out Russia for the nerve agent attack yesterday, he gets fired a few hours later. Proof Donny is Putin's bitch, yo.
But seriously. This marriage was never meant to last. It's hardly news that Rex got dumped. It's not even surprising how it happened: via a tweet. Talk about humiliation.
His sacking appeared imminent from day one, but from last autumn it was only a matter of time. Hell, I'd argue he was never the man for that job. There are just too many differences between the two - both in temperament, manner of doing business, not to mention their stances on international politics (if we could speak of such in Trump's case at all).
TexRex was hired for the job, beating strong contenders like Giuliani and Romney (please, not another lifeless muppet like Kerry!) There was controversy even before he was sworn in: his ExxonMobil background, you know. And his links with the oil business and particularly Putin (he has now shown he doesn't like Russia much, though). Rex himself said at one point he never wanted the job, but his wife convinced him he ought to servemaster Don the people.
The first serious clash between the two happened when the Don suggested the Department of State should relinquish 30% of its budget from there on, meaning fewer experts to work for Rex. Then son-in-law in chief Jared Kushner essentially stole much of Rex' functions as America's top envoy, making rounds across the Middle East and stealing some glory.
Rumors say Rex was considering quitting last summer after Trump's speech at the boyscouts, where instead of keeping the presidential tradition to speak about American values and civic duties and responsibilities, he said he didn't feel like talking politics at the moment, so he went on making some dumb jokes, taking his routine dump on his predecessor, chewing old soundbites about "fake news", and all other sort of stuff except what he was supposed to be there for.
Then in August Rex failed to defend Trump's statements after the Charlottesville violence (the right-wing rally that clashed with an anti-racist rally around the proposed removal of Gen. Lee's statue). Trump said both sides were responsible, while Rex told Fox that was only the Don's opinion and no one else's.
When scandal broke out around Qatar and the other Gulf states (including Egypt) decided to isolate the tiny nation because of its close ties to Iran and Turkey (citing purported support for terrorism as a pretext), Rex called for calmness and urged everybody to sit at the negotiations table. But Trump chose to side with the Saudis. Rex also didn't support his boss on Iran's nuclear deal: the former supported it, while the latter wanted it scrapped, much to the amazement and dissatisfaction of nearly the whole rest of the world.
Then of course came the "moron" remark. After the leak, Rex summoned a weird press conference where he explained how "smart" his boss was. But that wasn't enough for the Don; he tweeted that if the remark was real, they could always sort this out through a nice little IQ test. He asserted he'd beat Rex (highly doubtful).
North Korea was no easier issue, either. The Don bit Rex on Twitter at a time when the latter was trying to convince everyone that diplomacy was the best approach of dealing with Kim. Trump said Rex was only wasting his time with this nonsense. Only to rush into Kim's embrace now, based on a mere hint from South Korea that diplomacy is, in fact, very possible.
Now that Tillerson is out, most speculations are that the last straw came when he supported UK's version of Russian involvement in Sergey Skripal's poisoning. Which brings us back to Trump's telling reaction. You can't mess with my buddy Vlad, no way! You've crossed the line, buddy! At least that's how this looks.
Whatever the case, things are only getting to get more hawkish from now on. Pompeo is stepping in, and he's got some very interesting ideas about international politics, starting with Iran. I wonder who's the next one to fly out the window, by the way. The bets are already on: Sessions, perhaps?
But seriously. This marriage was never meant to last. It's hardly news that Rex got dumped. It's not even surprising how it happened: via a tweet. Talk about humiliation.
His sacking appeared imminent from day one, but from last autumn it was only a matter of time. Hell, I'd argue he was never the man for that job. There are just too many differences between the two - both in temperament, manner of doing business, not to mention their stances on international politics (if we could speak of such in Trump's case at all).
TexRex was hired for the job, beating strong contenders like Giuliani and Romney (please, not another lifeless muppet like Kerry!) There was controversy even before he was sworn in: his ExxonMobil background, you know. And his links with the oil business and particularly Putin (he has now shown he doesn't like Russia much, though). Rex himself said at one point he never wanted the job, but his wife convinced him he ought to serve
The first serious clash between the two happened when the Don suggested the Department of State should relinquish 30% of its budget from there on, meaning fewer experts to work for Rex. Then son-in-law in chief Jared Kushner essentially stole much of Rex' functions as America's top envoy, making rounds across the Middle East and stealing some glory.
Rumors say Rex was considering quitting last summer after Trump's speech at the boyscouts, where instead of keeping the presidential tradition to speak about American values and civic duties and responsibilities, he said he didn't feel like talking politics at the moment, so he went on making some dumb jokes, taking his routine dump on his predecessor, chewing old soundbites about "fake news", and all other sort of stuff except what he was supposed to be there for.
Then in August Rex failed to defend Trump's statements after the Charlottesville violence (the right-wing rally that clashed with an anti-racist rally around the proposed removal of Gen. Lee's statue). Trump said both sides were responsible, while Rex told Fox that was only the Don's opinion and no one else's.
When scandal broke out around Qatar and the other Gulf states (including Egypt) decided to isolate the tiny nation because of its close ties to Iran and Turkey (citing purported support for terrorism as a pretext), Rex called for calmness and urged everybody to sit at the negotiations table. But Trump chose to side with the Saudis. Rex also didn't support his boss on Iran's nuclear deal: the former supported it, while the latter wanted it scrapped, much to the amazement and dissatisfaction of nearly the whole rest of the world.
Then of course came the "moron" remark. After the leak, Rex summoned a weird press conference where he explained how "smart" his boss was. But that wasn't enough for the Don; he tweeted that if the remark was real, they could always sort this out through a nice little IQ test. He asserted he'd beat Rex (highly doubtful).
North Korea was no easier issue, either. The Don bit Rex on Twitter at a time when the latter was trying to convince everyone that diplomacy was the best approach of dealing with Kim. Trump said Rex was only wasting his time with this nonsense. Only to rush into Kim's embrace now, based on a mere hint from South Korea that diplomacy is, in fact, very possible.
Now that Tillerson is out, most speculations are that the last straw came when he supported UK's version of Russian involvement in Sergey Skripal's poisoning. Which brings us back to Trump's telling reaction. You can't mess with my buddy Vlad, no way! You've crossed the line, buddy! At least that's how this looks.
Whatever the case, things are only getting to get more hawkish from now on. Pompeo is stepping in, and he's got some very interesting ideas about international politics, starting with Iran. I wonder who's the next one to fly out the window, by the way. The bets are already on: Sessions, perhaps?
(no subject)
Date: 14/3/18 21:52 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 15/3/18 06:49 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 15/3/18 00:23 (UTC)Sessions it is.
(but if he isn't fired in the next 5 firings, I'm switching to Kushner if he's still there)
(no subject)
Date: 15/3/18 06:51 (UTC)