Trump Ends Globalism at the State Department
Outgoing Rex Tillerson is, by all accounts, a very likeable guy, and no one wants to kick someone when he’s down. But President Trump was wise to fire him as secretary of state. Tillerson’s outlook was quite different from Trump’s, and from the agenda Trump was elected on.
We have “different mindsets,” Trump said about Tillerson, as a polite understatement. “We got along, actually, quite well, but we disagree on a lot of things.”
Indeed. Tillerson was the CEO of ExxonMobil, one of the largest multinational corporations in the world. No one could hold that position without being a globalist and he did not convert quickly enough to the “Make America Great Again” mindset.
Tillerson was never on the same page as President Trump in standing up against — not with — the many parts of the world that are hostile to our sovereign interests. A supporter of phony free trade, Tillerson seemed more like the appeasement-type of secretary of state that we would expect if Hillary Clinton had won the presidential election.
It is not merely that Tillerson thought Obama’s sweetheart deal with Iran was “okay,” as Trump complained in announcing his termination of Tillerson. It was also that Tillerson would say and do things out-of-sync with what the America-First stance needs to be.
Tillerson was mistakenly trying to use diplomacy with the North Korean communist dictator Kim Jong-un while Trump was pursuing tougher measures. When Trump finally got Tillerson to stop groveling, the situation improved.
Even the media concedes that Tillerson’s departure will not hinder Trump’s highly effective handling of North Korea, which is all-Trump and contrary to Tillerson’s approach.
Given how often Tillerson disagreed during his confirmation hearing with Trump’s positions, it is surprising that Tillerson lasted as long as he did. In merely one day of testimony Tillerson disagreed with Trump about 1) the harmful Trans-Pacific Partnership, 2) Russian policies toward the Ukraine, 3) so-called climate change, and 4) the need for Japan and South Korea to develop nuclear weapons.
Trump was perceptive in his post-firing comments: “I think Rex will be much happier now, but I really appreciate his service.”
