November 30, 2017
"The White House has developed a plan to force out Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, whose relationship with President Trump has been strained..."
"... and replace him with Mike Pompeo, the C.I.A. director, within the next several weeks, senior administration officials said on Thursday," the NYT reports.
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91 comments:
Team KAOS is back, baby. I have missed Team KAOS. It is the only part of this administration that I find amusing any more.
Finally.
Why would you believe what you read in the Times?
Let's see. I wonder what the over/under is on this projection.
And ... will the Gray Lady print an apology/retraction if it does not happen "within the next several weeks?"
The world wants to know.
Big Mike said...
Why would you believe what you read in the Times?
11/30/17, 9:12 AM
Damn you sir, you beat me to it.
We've been hearing this for months. At this point I tend to believe it. I'll say this: once it happens, Rex will become the darling of ABCNBCCBSCNNMSNBC. 60 minutes will do a bit on him. The Joe & Mika Show will have him on with Jeffery Sachs. He might even get a cover shot on Teen Vogue. He'll be one popular guy.
But most of America won't even notice.
What the hey -- "developed a plan"? Tillerson serves at the pleasure of the President. If Trump wants to dump him, he doesn't need a "plan".
I know practically nothing about Mike Pompeo beyond that he has failed to put the kibosh on the CIA's disgraceful promotion of RussiaGate. Therefore I have the impression that Pompeo is rather incompetent.
“... The NY Times reports.”
That’s like saying “oh, never mind” in your best Emily Litella voice.
Exxon Mobile? The NYT used to be good.
They want another military officer loyal to the Commander-in-Chief in the State Department job. I expect the CIA then gets another retired military officer as well. A twofer.
If NYT reported that water was wet I'd have to question my assumptions about water.
Doesn't matter, Tillerson or Pompeo, Kim still has us by the balls.
Time to turn everything over to Mattis.
"I know practically nothing about Mike Pompeo beyond that he has failed to put the kibosh on the CIA's disgraceful promotion of RussiaGate. Therefore I have the impression that Pompeo is rather incompetent."
He may be, but one can't assume it just because he's not doing what you think he should be doing. The CIA always has its own reasons for doing things.
"Doesn't matter, Tillerson or Pompeo, Kim still has us by the balls."
Oh, please.
Without Tillerson at the tiller Trump will bring in another shill to steer a tweeter course.
The rumor says Tom Cotton is the CIA Director Trump wants to replace Mike Pompeo. He would be a good officer indeed. He was a combat veteran in the 506 PIR, which is in the 101st Airborne (the same unit that was made famous in Band of Brothers). The Airborne is the Army's version of the Marine Corps.
Is that you, Mr. Chamberlain?
Is it true? Might be. Or it might be really designated for China and North Korea.
This Tillerson "might be out" stories we have been hearing about for the last, what, 6 months? Reminds me of the Apache helicopters that Clinton was going to send into the balkan theater that never arrived. It was designed to scare the enemy. If Trump wants Tillerson out he just has to pick up the phone.
Tillerson is the good cop in the NK negotiations. Clinton, with his twitter feed, is the bad cop. This story is saying the good cop might be gone, "in a couple of weeks". Replaced by some military guy.
"Act now, limited time offer!"
We'll see. If it's true it would be disappointing because I think Tillerson was a great and creative choice.
BUT it seems we hear these kinds of rumors pretty regularly, as people try to create stories to make things happen.
Just yesterday, I was thinking of the old "knowledge" everyone had that Trump always took the opinion of the last person he met with. Remember that? There's obviously some PR agency out there trying to push news to make it true.
(as I watch this, I see an ad on CNN about impeaching Trump. They talk about his poor mental health. Can you imagine how racist such an ad against Obama would have been?)
Is this like how Rosenstein and a few other people were going to resign and never did?
Will the NYT burn their source if this turns out to not be true?
Maybe I'll read the whole thing later, but I'll file this as, "ehh... whatever" for now.
Trump fanboi responses range from denial and anger to bargaining and depression. Can acceptance be not so far behind? I think it can!
I'd like to see Nikki Haley replace Tillerson.
Damn you sir, you beat me to it.
Sir! Yessir! EMs always beat out commissioned officers and LTs.
Even if we ETSed 46 years ago.
"I'd like to see Nikki Haley replace Tillerson."
Someday maybe. Not ready yet.
Tillerson is cleaning out the State Department. He's shrunk the bureaucracy there by 18%. That was a story in the NYT I did believe. And the NYT White House reporter got caught in The Reckoning. I believed that. And I don't believe the NYT on Tillerson/Trump. Fair and balanced, that's me. But what I wonder is, what is the rule which is allowing Democratic politician John (ElevatorMan) Conyers to stay in power after stories like Cokie Robert's? Is there a rule that senior members of Congress get 72 free gropes a day? Or is it one for every year they've lived?
Fox Business news has reported: Tillerson out by January.
Very comforting to know that the current CIA Director Pompeo, is a enough of a Trump lackey for Trump to give him SOS.
If Trump needs to fire any cabinet officer it should be Sessions. Enough with letting the in your face naked corruption of the Obama Administration go unpunished.
We we even be reminded of this story in February if Tillerson is still there? Will the NYTimes then write a second story describing how they were had?
Inga said...
Very comforting to know that the current CIA Director Pompeo, is a enough of a Trump lackey for Trump to give him SOS."
It's only a lackey if he or she is on the other team. Speaking of lakey'.....one Loretta Lynch comes to mind.
It's amusing how breathlessly the NYTimes reports this "scoop." Tillerson has a few hundred million in the bank from is Exxon days. He doesn't give a flying fuck if he's SecState or not. And, he's not bucking to become President unlike a certain un-named SecState under Obama.
Nobody cares whether Rex Tillerson is SecState or not.
#PresidentMoron isn't happy?
My only hope -- and it is purely a hope and not an expectation -- is that Tillerson will write a book.
But Augusta members generally don't write books.
I've read this story before. Wait and see.
Team KAOS is back, baby.
This team is in such disarray they'll never manage to win a primary, much less....
Oops, that was from last year's talking points.
How does the NYT know about inter-personal relationships in the White House?
They don't.
Earnest Prole said...
Trump fanboi responses range from denial and anger to bargaining and depression. Can acceptance be not so far behind? I think it can!
11/30/17, 9:47 AM
Oh there you are. I was hoping to hear you open up a fresh can of dopey on that NBC butt-swat skit. If that wasn't dopey I don't know what is.
WTF is it with you anyway? Who knows if this is true or what it means? Do you, smartass?
Lucy and Ethel trick Ricky into firing Tillerson. Hilarity ensues.
Earnest Prole said...
Trump fanboi responses range from denial and anger to bargaining and depression. Can acceptance be not so far behind? I think it can!
Speaking not as a Trump fanboi or as a Tillerson fanboi, but as someone who has been underwhelmed by the NYT's objectivity: What reason do we have for believing these breathless reports based on "sources?"
What would really be fun is for DJT to tweet he is considering appointing Roy Moore to be the American Ambassador to Great Britain. Never mind, that's too mean.
A more important story:
www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/250558/the-beirut-echo-chamber
“What would really be fun is for DJT to tweet he is considering appointing Roy Moore to be the American Ambassador to Great Britain. Never mind, that's too mean.”
He wouldn’t be admitted to the country.
Don't worry narciso, Trump is moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem next week. Also called waving a red flag at the Jihadist Bull Iran. That should get the Lebanese War of 2017 started.
Well since it is the NYT reporting; I'll assume Tillerson will still be SecState for some time to come.
Speaking of NYT prognostications, does anyone think that markets will recover back down to Obama days? I'm thinking never.
Leland said...
Well since it is the NYT reporting; I'll assume Tillerson will still be SecState for some time to come.
Speaking of NYT prognostications, does anyone think that markets will recover back down to Obama days? I'm thinking never."
Hey! Watch your mouth! Don't cast an evil eye on the markets!
Inga: "He wouldn’t be admitted to the country"
He could do his job via VTC and help save the planet!
Or perhaps Trump should just appoint Moore to investigate all the democrat/lefty/Inga-approved sexual harassment and enabling by good little feminist gals.
On the other hand, that will take an ARMY of prosecutors considering how many dem/lefties are involved.
Still, any little bit would be a step forward.
Leland: "Well since it is the NYT reporting; I'll assume Tillerson will still be SecState for some time to come."
A fellow could do quite handsomely betting on the exact opposite of what LLR Chucks beloved "insiders" at the NYT tell you.
Personally, I'm happy to see that Inga is now fully recovered from Pelosi setting the cause of sexual harassment awareness and action back by decades.
But the good news is its only by decades.
I do want to hear more from Inga and ARM about this Brand New Democrat Rule That White Women Cannot Be Trusted When They Accuse Someone Of Sexual Harassment.
Perhaps its just a long-awaited corollary of the Democrat One-Grope Rule.
I am outraged.
Meanwhile, expect to see Tillerson at the White House Christmas Party....in 2018.
Unless of course, Tillerson wants to leave.
Which would be funny, since no lefty wanted Tillerson confirmed in the first place and were calling for him to resign just a few months back!
It's the Lefty "Spin The Wheel-What Do We Want Today That Contradicts What We Said We Wanted Yesterday?" game!!
Let's just call it Comey II, Son of Comey Firing.
Cue Movie Voice: In a World of Lefties and Lifelong Republicans where the election of Trump was an "impossibility", a New Danger emerges...the potential departure of someone the Left has been demanding depart...
“He’s much more than a business executive,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Tillerson in an interview with Fox News... “He’s a world-class player.”
But the mighty Donald changed his mind because Mr. T didn't always agree with the smartest man alive.
And another man bites the dust as the bus rolls over him.
What reason do we have for believing these breathless reports based on "sources?"
News flash: Trump is anything but the New York Times’ passive victim; he gives as good as he gets (in case you haven’t noticed). Half of Maggie Haberman’s Trump scoops come directly from Trump.
Bad Lieutenant said...
...
WTF is it with you anyway? Who knows if this is true or what it means? Do you, smartass?
For my part, I don't know if it is true or what any of it might mean. I am no great fan of the Times -- certainly not their editorial board or many of their columnists -- and I know that they have gotten things wrong in the past. As I have written to Althouse many times, I'm a Journal guy, not a Times guy. I appreciate her reading the Times so that I don't have to.
But I think I will make a point of bookmarking this page, to come back to it if and when Tillerson does leave in the way that the Times is reporting that its sources are saying.
And lean into the people here who claim that because it is the Times it must be wrong.
Is this what anonymous sources or the NYT hope will or make to happen?
The Washington Post followed the same strategy and, after four trimesters, they have failed to deem the baby nonviable. The NYT will probably be denied their relief, too.
Let me help: Is the Trump administration vigorously protesting this blatant lie in our nation's paper of record?
Has Trump taken to twitter to denounce this fakest of fake news? (I hear he's pretty good with the tweets).
There's your answer.
Chuck offers: My only hope -- and it is purely a hope and not an expectation -- is that Tillerson will write a book.
One Year Before the Mast?
wildswan: "... Is there a rule that senior members of Congress get 72 free gropes a day? Or is it one for every year they've lived?"
And one to grow on!
"Bowe Bergdahl Republican" Chuck: " I am no great fan of the Times ..."
LOL
Tea for the Tillerson.
Poor Mans LLR Chuck: "But the mighty Donald changed his mind because Mr. T didn't always agree with the smartest man alive."
So, Trump has reportedly changed his mind and is now in line with the entirety of thought of the MSM/LLR's regarding Tillerson.
And so they are mad at Trump for potentially being in agreement with them.
Sounds about right.
Is potentially agreeing with everyone who hates you an impeachable offense?
Childlike naivete is charming -- in a child.
Drago said...
"Bowe Bergdahl Republican" Chuck: " I am no great fan of the Times ..."
LOL
Here's one to ram down your miserable throat; it's Donald J. Trump, talking about the New York Times:
“The Times is a great, great American jewel,” Mr. Trump declared as he prepared to leave the gathering in the newspaper’s 16th-floor boardroom, where portraits of former presidents adorn the walls.
“A world jewel,” added Mr. Trump, who was seated next to Arthur Sulzberger Jr., the paper’s publisher. “And I hope we can all get along.”
In an extraordinary 75-minute meeting — parrying, debating and, at times, joking with the leaders of a publication that has long been an object of Mr. Trump’s fascination and frustration — the president-elect’s chameleonlike approach to the news media was on full display.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/22/business/media/donald-trump-new-york-times.html
Maybe, Trump is going to say that it wasn't his voice on the Times' recording of the interview. Like it wasn't his voice on the John Miller tape, or the Access Hollywood tape.
Oh, if the NY Times said so.....
LLR Chuck is not having a good week.
I wonder why that might be?.....
Oh right, now I remember why: 3%+ annual GDP growth, decreasing unemployment, consumer and manufacturing confidence at their highest levels in decades...etc.
That's the kind of data that's going to make it hard for the dems to defeat Trump.
Hence "Bowe Bergdahl Republican" Chucks clear anguish.
Lifelong Cuck seems to be particularly upset today.
I guess the Dow being over 24,000 would upset a lifelong republican, of the Bowe Bergdahl wing of the party of course.
Earnest Prole: "Childlike naivete is charming -- in a child."
Nonsense.
Many actresses and actors have built careers around maintaining that childlike naivete.
I would hope in the future you would be much more thorough in your analyses.
Thanks in advance.
Earnest Prole: "Let me help: Is the Trump administration vigorously protesting this blatant lie in our nation's paper of record?"
LOL
Earnest desperately wants the Trump Admin to play by the old rules!
Only those with a childlike naivete about political strategy would expect an insurgent candidate and office-holder to play by those old rules.
Senior officials of which administration? That would be my question to the NYTimes.
I'm trying to think what possible benefits/consequences there are and for whom by reporting this. Add to gossip and chaos at the State Department? Undercut any negotiations between Tillerson and North Korea? Insult Tillerson? Neither of these seem remotely worthwhile unless your intention is to undermine the Trump Administration.
Cue the nine-dimensional chess talk when those slow on the uptake realize this is in fact Trump’s own leak to the Times.
Sounds more like The Times trying to spread fear, uncertainty, and doubt within the foreign policy services. "Senior administration officials" indeed!
As for "running" the State Department; who on earth could?
It is listed on Wikipedia with 30,000 employees, which must be by some definiton of "employee" we are not told about. (I think the GWB administration was building an embassy compound to house 16,000 in Baghdad alone?)
And likewise for the CIA.
It appears to me that the Secretary has an office with staff somewhere in the building all right, though he may not be there much anymore, being busy flying around the world on the President's business.
Meanwhile, Victoria Nuland's "Building" sails on through the cosmos on its own trajectory like one of those (in)sentient Star Trek doomsday machines transformed from an old NASA mission by an intergalactic tachyon storm.
Interesting if true, but I see no compelling reason to be upset by this. He's Trump's subordinate, and his relationship with his boss is his problem.
Earnest Prole: "Cue the nine-dimensional chess talk when those slow on the uptake realize this is in fact Trump’s own leak to the Times."
Hardly. Nine-dimensional anything is hardly required to stay one step ahead of the MSM. Perhaps 2-dimensional would be sufficient for that.
This could easily be a Trump admin leak. It could just as easily be another made up meme-salvo from those who want to paint chaos into the white house (cue ARM's immediate comment) which ties into the 'we have to remove the crazy man Trump from office' since the collusion thing is such an obvious lie.
It could also be maneuvering between staffers. Maybe Pompeo has pals who know they would get to go with him to State and they planted the rumors.
Since its LLR Chuck's beloved NYT'ers, we simply can't trust their reporting.
And all the usual suspects now reports "breaking news" that The New york times reports today . . .
Echo chamber.
bgates - excellent reminder in your post at 10:24 am. I had forgotten about that one.
- Krumhorn
Chuck says:
But I think I will make a point of bookmarking this page, to come back to it if and when Tillerson does leave in the way that the Times is reporting that its sources are saying.
And lean into the people here who claim that because it is the Times it must be wrong.
Doesn't work unless you go on record today agreeing with the Times.
FullMoon said...
Chuck says:
"But I think I will make a point of bookmarking this page, to come back to it if and when Tillerson does leave in the way that the Times is reporting that its sources are saying.
"And lean into the people here who claim that because it is the Times it must be wrong."
Doesn't work unless you go on record today agreeing with the Times.
Baloney. I don't have to do a thing. I carry no brief for the New York Times. I am not defending them, and I am not saying they are right. But some here are saying that the Times is never right; or at least that the Times is wrong about this.
You can crawl out on that limb too if you'd like. I just want to be the one to saw it off, if in fact it turns out that the Times' sources were right.
Blogger R.J. Chatt said...
I'm trying to think what possible benefits/consequences there are and for whom by reporting this. Add to gossip and chaos at the State Department? Undercut any negotiations between Tillerson and North Korea? Insult Tillerson? Neither of these seem remotely worthwhile unless your intention is to undermine the Trump Administration.
11/30/17, 11:41 AM
Sounds familiar. Google reveals Tillerson "on his way out back" in August. Everyone said so.
For "senior administration officials" read "Old gypsy woman" (or "Inga")
Apologies to whoever had this line first yesterday in another thread
John Henry
we simply can't trust their reporting
Only a fool takes their reporting at face value, and only a fool dismisses it categorically; like most things in life it requires active scrutiny. If Trump remains silent on twitter, it's the dog that didn't bark.
Chuck said...
Bad Lieutenant said...
...
WTF is it with you anyway? Who knows if this is true or what it means? Do you, smartass?
For my part, I don't know if it is true or what any of it might mean.
Just for the record, Chuck, you do realize that I wasn't talking to you that time, but to Earnest Prole, who in his own way is as tiresome as you are?
Weird colloquy on the New York Times here. One would think the colloquy would focus on Tillerson, Pompeo, etc. "Rex is here" speaks volumes.
Weird colloquy on the New York Times here.
The technical term is cognitive-dissonance circle jerk.
BL: "Just for the record, Chuck, you do realize that I wasn't talking to you that time, but to Earnest Prole, who in his own way is as tiresome as you are?"
Honestly, that is not really fair to Earnest.
"Bowe Bergdahl Republican" Chuck: "You can crawl out on that limb too if you'd like. I just want to be the one to saw it off, if in fact it turns out that the Times' sources were right"
We will file this latest missive under "Things LLR Chuck never writes about any leftist publication, lefty report, lefty pundit, or lefty commentator."
Unexpectedly.
You know who else is equally one-sided (for the left) as Chuck? Inga.
You know who often comes to LLR Chuck's "defense"? Inga.
Interesting.
Terrible, terrible idea. I had high hopes for Tillerson when news of his appointment first broke. I thought his business experience would help bring a realistic, pragmatic attitude towards US foreign policy. The record, unfortunately, has not lived up to the hope. Tillerson seems to have an atrocious relationship with Trump, who seems more than happy to undercut his Secretary of State at every pass (and yes, I'm aware of the Art of the Deal, four-dimensional chess explanations for this, but I don't buy them). Tillerson has shown a useless obsession with "reforming" the State Department bureaucracy, which is a fool's errand and not likely to accomplish much.
But as poor as Tillerson has performed, the replacements are not likely to offer much improvement. According to the same article, Pompeo's move to state would then trigger Senator Tom Cotton's appointment to head the CIA. Both Pompeo and Cotton have been irresponsible Iran hawks, incessantly attempting to undermine the JCPOA. These appointments confirm that the Trump administration is likely to move further towards a recklessly and needlessly aggressive Iran strategy.
But the mighty Donald changed his mind because Mr. T didn't always agree with the smartest man alive.
Not agreeing is fine – as long as you keep it a private disagreement between the employee and the employer and out of the news. But if an employee trashes the boss in public then that employee needs to look for employment elsewhere. Trump showed admirable restraint by not firing Tillerson immediately after Tillerson called Trump a “moron.”
Thought experiment: Suppose Tillerson leaves and goes back to his old job as CEO of Exxon. Suppose further that an Exxon employee then publicly calls Tillerson a “moron.” Do we have to wonder if that employee would be fired? Is there any question in anyone’s mind what would happen?
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