Poll: Tillerson Out?

Page 1 of 4
1
2
3
... LastLast
  1. #1
    Merely a Setback PACOX's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    ██████
    Posts
    26,281

    Question Tillerson the next to go?

    Tillerson wants to establish diplomatic channels with NK and the region. 45 wants to...well I don't know what he wants to do.

    Are we witnessing the end of days for Tillerson?





    http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/01/politi...rea/index.html

    Resident Cosplay Progressive

  2. #2
    Yeah, I think most folks think he'll stick around for a full year (like a lot of the administration is rumored to be doing) and then bailing. It's been pretty clear that he's not thrilled with the job, and how Trump is regularly openly attacking/contradicting him or making him look like a fool by going off-script while Tillerson sticks to the script.

    It's still mind blowing to watch a president so openly attack his top diplomat on god-damn twitter. What a fucking world we live in, right now.

  3. #3
    Moderator Crissi's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    The Moon
    Posts
    32,144
    Honestly, Id quit if my boss undermined me like that. I think he should.

    Trump wouldnt know how to be a diplomat if the knowledge hit him in the mouth.

  4. #4
    Why arent the Republicans scrambling over themselves to impeach this lunatic? Dont they fear for their own safety at this point?
    World needs more Goblin Warriors https://i.imgur.com/WKs8aJA.jpg

  5. #5
    It's impossible to see how Tillerson can continue as Secretary of State.

    I'm not sure that Trump or his sad cult realize exactly what Trump just did.

    To explain what I mean, I'm going to take a slight tangent. It is a common complaint that certain US ambassadorships are given to friends and supporters of this (and prior) Presidents. While that is never the case for "trouble" countries (like Afghanistan or Iraq) that get State Department experts, for friendly countries, it is rather common. And counter-intuitively, so long as the chargé d'affaires is competent, the host country typically welcomes that patronage Ambassador with open arms.

    Why? Because international relations and diplomacy is fundamentally built on relationships. The host country vastly prefers a man or woman who has the President's ear (or his cell phone #), is trusted by the President, and can get around the enormous US government apparatus to take host country concerns directly to the most powerful man in the world. That is far more valuable to them than a guy who is an expert on everything about their culture and economy. The State Department has lots of those. They know that.

    What they want, in other words, is a ideal middle-man. That is why, for example, during the Bush '43 Administration, countries cultivated relationships with then National Security Adviser Condeleeza Rice years before she became Secretary of State. They knew Bush respected Collin Powell, but he adored and listened to Rice. This made her a more effective Secretary of State when the time came.

    What Trump did here is he took the idea that Tillerson has his ear and has his confidence out on the South Lawn, and shot it through the head for all the world to see. Now no country... not just North Korea, but ANY country... has any reason to believe that their discussions with Tillerson can or will amount to anything. If it is a waste of their time and energy, if Trump is going to do what he wants regardless, then why should they bother with him? The answer is, they won't. Tillerson has been reduced to manager of the State Department, speaking for neither the United States or Donald Trump. It is now not clear who he is the representative of besides in title.

    This is another Twitter-induced disaster for American diplomacy that will have a spill over effect into everything Tillerson, already deeply resented in the State Department, has and will continue to do.

    He should resign. It's not worth his time to continue on. There is no recovery for him from this.

  6. #6
    Just a quick note that 25 years ago, Kim Jong Un was 8 years old.

    But honestly, I'm surprised Tillerson has lasted this long. When Trump lost his ability to lift sanctions, that pretty much ended Rex's usefulness.

  7. #7
    The President of the Council on Foreign Relations has called on Tillerson to resign. Unprecedented.




    Haass is one of the most respected diplomats of our time and has been President of the Council since 2003. His, and the Council's voice carries weight. As I said, if Tillerson continues, it'll be even more isolated than he has been.

  8. #8
    Over 9000! Milchshake's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Shitposter Burn Out
    Posts
    9,974
    Quote Originally Posted by Edge- View Post
    Yeah, I think most folks think he'll stick around for a full year (like a lot of the administration is rumored to be doing) and then bailing. It's been pretty clear that he's not thrilled with the job, and how Trump is regularly openly attacking/contradicting him or making him look like a fool by going off-script while Tillerson sticks to the script.

    It's still mind blowing to watch a president so openly attack his top diplomat on god-damn twitter. What a fucking world we live in, right now.
    Don't forget, Tillerson was very effective in gutting a good chunk of the State Department. By failing to make appointments, forcing an exodus, and cutting off communications to the employees that don't work on his floor.


    The NeoReactionaries and nihilists are probably quite please with Tillerson.

    His only real failure for Trump is being unable to secure sanction relief for Putin.
    Last edited by Milchshake; 2017-10-01 at 11:02 PM.

  9. #9
    I wonder how many of the "voting for the chaos candidate" type people still are following this giant shit show unraveling for the entire world to see.
    It's been a while actually since I've received a message from scrapbot...need to drink more i guess.
    Quote Originally Posted by Butter Emails View Post
    Trump is a complete shitbag that's draining the country's coffers to stuff his own.
    It must be a day ending in Y.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Nexx226 View Post
    At this point, Trump is essentially throwing all possible diplomatic solutions out the window. What a fucking idiot.

    How exactly does he think people were "nice" to NK? He seems to think the only solutions are being nice or attacking them.
    For Trump and his core base, those are the only options.

  11. #11
    The Undying Breccia's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    NY, USA
    Posts
    39,907
    I voted no, but with less certainty than 24 hours ago.

    Next up is Javanka. Kelly's been questioning Kushner's role, Bannon hates him, the Chinese trip was cancelled, he's been called out for spending more then Price did on one skiing trip, Trump himself is questioning their value, and "but his emaaaaaaaaaaaaails".

    At this point, he's my most likely candidate, but there's a filled field and people are leaving basically at random. The Mooch beat the spread.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by LaserSharkDFB View Post
    Just a quick note that 25 years ago, Kim Jong Un was 8 years old.

    But honestly, I'm surprised Tillerson has lasted this long. When Trump lost his ability to lift sanctions, that pretty much ended Rex's usefulness.
    I'd assume Kim was a handful as a child, but yes this is another BS tweet from our POTUS with BS "facts".
    The wise wolf who's pride is her wisdom isn't so sharp as drunk.

  13. #13
    The Undying Breccia's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    NY, USA
    Posts
    39,907
    Quote Originally Posted by Skroe View Post
    He should resign. It's not worth his time to continue on. There is no recovery for him from this.
    But Skroe! What would the ambassador to South Korea say?

    - - - Updated - - -

    Maybe not the best thread, but: apparently Congress is sick of the Executive Branch and is taking their own measures. This, added to the Russian sanctions they made Trump sign, show a growing power grab from Trump's tiny tiny hands.

    Trump questioning having family as staff: report

    Shit, no, that's a different thread. Hold on.

    Lawmakers look to bypass Trump on North Korea sanctions

    There we go.

    Senators from both parties increasingly worried about North Korea's nuclear weapons program are talking about bypassing President Trump and hitting the country with sanctions on their own.

    That talk is setting up a potential clash between Congress and President Trump, whose administration insists they are already hitting the regime of Kim Jong Un hard.

    Trump enacted unprecedented sanctions last week that target banks around the globe that do business with North Korea. It's a major step toward raising pressure on China, Pyongyang's staunchest ally and benefactor, to cut their support for Kim.

    Administration officials have urged lawmakers to be let the sanctions already in place work and not tie their hands by acting alone.

    But as North Korea presses ahead with its nuclear program and gets closer to a weapon that could hit the U.S., senators are growing impatient.

    Lawmakers admit it is a difficult decision between sitting on the sidelines or bucking the president and taking matters into their own hands.

    “I wonder whether additional congressional activities are helpful when we’re on the brink of something that could become a catastrophe,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) told a Senate Banking Committee hearing on sanctions this week.

    At the hearing, the Banking Committee, which has jurisdiction over sanctions, heard from top administration officials on the way forward.

    Lawmakers expressed frustration at the inability to restrain North Korea.

    “Is there any reason why we shouldn’t throw the kitchen sink at them?” asked Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a defense hawk and army veteran. “Hit them as hard as we can, as fast as we can, with everything we can?”

    “That’s exactly what we’re doing,” replied Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Crimes Sigal Mandelker.

    Mandelker and Susan Thornton, the acting assistant secretary of State for east Asian and Pacific affairs, asked for patience and flexibility.

    Both the administration and Congress feel pressure.
    Cut a bunch of stuff we already know...

    Treasury has already targeted eight North Korean banks and 27 North Korean nationals with the new powers.

    But lawmakers are mulling putting additional pressure on China, which they worry is slow to crack down on North Korea.

    Members of Congress have suggested boosting sanctions on companies and countries such as China and Russia that export oil to North Korea.

    Such sanctions could strike a powerful blow to North Korea’s economy, but could worsen U.S. relations with those countries and invite economic retaliation.

    Some senators already worry that it might be too late to act.

    Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the ranking member on the Senate Intelligence Committee, urged Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) to hold a classified briefing for senators on the Kim regime's advancing weapons program.

    Warner openly wondered whether there was time for the sanctions in place to work.

    “Do we have any sense at all that we’re going to have the time for these sanctions to take effect given the progress they’ve had on the nuclear front,” he asked.

    Even so, many senators are demanding the administration do more to prevent money from getting to the Kim regime and floating congressional action.

    Mandelker and Thornton both insisted the administration is taking unprecedented action to strangle North Korea’s economy while walking a careful line with China.

    And they repeatedly urged lawmakers to let the administration take the lead and not take steps that could have unintended consequences or lock the U.S. into a course of action.

    “The calculus that they have about the line between war and chaos and getting to denuclearization is slightly different than the line that we have,” Thornton said.

  14. #14
    Why is he discussing such matters on twitter??

  15. #15
    The Undying Breccia's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    NY, USA
    Posts
    39,907
    Quote Originally Posted by Acidz View Post
    Why is he discussing such matters on twitter??
    Why was he discussing a pair of African American athletes during a rally for an Alabama Senate seat?

    Trump is just rallying his base. He needs this, he's taking a beating this week too.

  16. #16
    Umm. Is this a bad thing? I guess the Orange Turd may try to appoint Gary Busey next go around. It took Pence to break the tie for his nomination.

    Of course publicly undermining you Sec. Of State on Twitter is pro.
    Democrats are the best! I will never ever question a Democrat again. I LOVE the Democrats!

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Breccia View Post
    Why was he discussing a pair of African American athletes during a rally for an Alabama Senate seat?

    Trump is just rallying his base. He needs this, he's taking a beating this week too.
    That was questionable as well, but taking an argument you have with a colleague to twitter seems even more dishonest to me.
    Does he have any allies left in US government? I'd think even the president would need some at least.

  18. #18
    Merely a Setback Sunseeker's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    In the state of Denial.
    Posts
    27,074
    Quote Originally Posted by Crissi View Post
    Honestly, Id quit if my boss undermined me like that. I think he should.

    Trump wouldnt know how to be a diplomat if the knowledge hit him in the mouth.
    I can't imagine being as insanely wealthy as Tillerson is, and be willing to put up with Trump's shit.
    Human progress isn't measured by industry. It's measured by the value you place on a life.

    Just, be kind.

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Breccia View Post
    Maybe not the best thread, but: apparently Congress is sick of the Executive Branch and is taking their own measures. This, added to the Russian sanctions they made Trump sign, show a growing power grab from Trump's tiny tiny hands.

    Trump questioning having family as staff: report

    Shit, no, that's a different thread. Hold on.

    Lawmakers look to bypass Trump on North Korea sanctions

    There we go.
    This is gonna end up being the Magna Carta all over again.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by smrund View Post
    I can't imagine being as insanely wealthy as Tillerson is, and be willing to put up with Trump's shit.
    Tillerson quite pointedly said during his nomination hearing that he isn't going to recuse himself on matters concerning oil industry past first year from nominations, but he agreed to one year.

    And that year is just a few months away at this point.

    I'm pretty sure he'll persevere for that reason alone at least.

    Not like his talks with NK could really change anything given mutual adversarial positions.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •