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Tillerson, who was ousted in March 2018, told the magazine: “I used to go to a meeting with a list of four to five things I needed to talk to him about, and I quickly learned. that if I got to three it was a home run, and I found that getting two that made sense was probably the best goal.
He added that he “started taking graphics and photos with (him) because I found those seemed to hold his attention better.”
“I think the other challenge that I realized very early on was that there were so many people who had access to his ear telling him things, most of which were wrong, and then he started listening to those voices. and to form an opinion. It had no basis in fact, ”said the former secretary of state.
“So you’ve spent an inordinate amount of time finding out why it’s not true, figuring out why it’s not factual, figuring out why it’s not the basis on which you want to understand it, you have to put it on. aside, let’s talk about what’s real. I think that was as big a challenge as anything, “Tillerson said.
His glowing statements, however, were the subject of further criticism from U.S. diplomats last week, who say Pompeo’s celebratory sentiments are shocking given the uproar and violence that marked the final days of Trump in power, three US diplomats told CNN.
On Wednesday morning, as the House prepared to debate and vote on Trump’s second impeachment, Pompeo tweeted suggesting he should receive the Nobel Prize.
Pompeo also remained loyal and stood by Trump’s side – condemning violent crowds, but by no means suggesting that Trump instigated insurgency – while a handful of other cabinet secretaries resigned after the violent siege of Capitol Hill.
One main difference that may explain the light of day between Pompeo and Tillerson: Pompeo has future political ambitions and Tillerson does not.
“Unfortunately for Tillerson, he got a taste of politics and probably doesn’t want anything to do with it anymore,” said Douglas Heye, a GOP strategist. “But Pompeo is one of the people who wants to tie his wagon to Trump’s name and wants to continue to do so. What can be politically advantageous for Pompeo is that he can brag about Trump’s foreign policy successes. and stay away from what happened last week because it doesn’t own any of it, unlike some of its Republican rivals like Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz. ”
Tillerson, who has remained relatively low-key about his tenure as Trump’s top diplomat, has also made it clear that he completely disagrees with Pompeo when it comes to the Trump administration’s Chinese policy.
“We are nowhere with China when it comes to national security. We are in a worse situation today than we were before he arrived, and I did not think it was possible,” he said. he declares.
Tillerson said he believed China would be the biggest problem for the new Biden administration.
“I’m afraid we will come to a military conflict with China in the decade and that will be when they make their move to Taiwan. They’ve been putting all of their pieces in place for a long time now to do it, and that’s [Chinese President Xi Jinping’s] heritage, to reunite China, ”he said.
Trump’s Chinese policies – which became extremely hawkish in the latter part of his presidency, especially as he sought to blame the coronavirus on China – is viewed by Pompeo as one of Pompeo’s greatest achievements. administration.
Tillerson said he “could never understand” Trump’s denigration of his allies.
“He saw them as weak people. He used to say this over and over again. I don’t know why he saw them as weak, other than watching free countries,” he said.
Tillerson also couldn’t fathom Trump’s desire to woo his opponents, he said, noting that the president’s meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un “was one of the last straws between him and me. “.
Although Pompeo is known to be privately skeptical of the success of Trump’s approach to Kim, sources told CNN, he has never said so publicly. Instead, he has always supported Trump’s approach and even announced that Trump’s meetings with Kim were effective even though they produced no tangible results on the denuclearization of North Korea.
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