'Be best!': Internet unloads on Trump after he calls Rex Tillerson 'dumb as a rock' and 'lazy as hell'
Donald Trump on Friday responded to a recent interview with Rex Tillerson, during which the former secretary of state described frequently having to stop the president from violating the law:
Mike Pompeo is doing a great job, I am very proud of him. His predecessor, Rex Tillerson, didn’t have the mental ca… https://t.co/gJDjQCcvh7— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1544212954
In a Thursday interview with CBS News’ Bob Schieffer, Tillerson said he believes Trump “grew tired” of his secretary of state telling him not to break the law.
“I’d have to say to him, ‘Mr. President, I understand what you wanna do, but you can’t do it that way. It violates the law, it violates treaty.’ He got really frustrated,” Tillerson said. “I think he grew tired of me being the guy who told him, ‘You can’t do that.’”
“What’s challenging for me ... is to go to work for a man who is pretty undisciplined, doesn’t like to read, doesn’t read briefing reports, doesn’t like to get into the details of a lot of things,” he continued. “We are starkly different in our styles, we did not have a common value system.”
Trump’s tweet was in stark contrast with former posts about Tillerson.
Life, fast https://t.co/r0jYrm1qNm— Andrew Prokop (@Andrew Prokop) 1544213654
The internet on Friday reacted swiftly to Trump’s remark:
The headline today is that the president is yelling at his former Secretary of State, but I think 50 years from now… https://t.co/ZTjMKozci7— Matt Pearce 🦅 (@Matt Pearce 🦅) 1544213231
Everyone who went down the whole "Gee, Trump is so presidential this week" path, please report to the principal's o… https://t.co/Xr10hn6jvZ— Doug Heye (@Doug Heye) 1544213709
Trump opens fire on Tillerson in response to his criticism. Possibly the angriest, nastiest @POTUS tweet to date. https://t.co/fPQSsRN6Ae— Mark Knoller (@Mark Knoller) 1544213665
The people leading our country.... https://t.co/hMD1hCdlY6— John Bresnahan (@John Bresnahan) 1544213652
Republican Source: "Oh, the presidency." https://t.co/NEzgrMD7O2— Amie Parnes (@Amie Parnes) 1544213621
This is what happens when you make a Faustian bargain and go to work for the Trump administration. Sure, you have a… https://t.co/4DTlkaYUgg— Steve Sebelius (@Steve Sebelius) 1544213454
I really hope someone on cable news books a geologist to discuss just how intelligent rocks are— Ben Jacobs (@Ben Jacobs) 1544213409
Fun fact - Heather Nauert, who Trump just named UN ambassador, was hired by Tillerson at State. https://t.co/n5oLPXSQES— Maggie Haberman (@Maggie Haberman) 1544213408
People Donald Trump has called “dumb as a rock”: Rex Tillerson, Jeb Bush, Joe Scarborough, Don Lemon, Glenn Beck, R… https://t.co/zcQ2qmdI0k— Kyle Cheney (@Kyle Cheney) 1544213253
Amazing. Just amazing. https://t.co/51fsTTrGy7— Jim Roberts (@Jim Roberts) 1544213230
Why did the president hire a secretary of state who "was dumb as a rock" and "lazy as hell"? https://t.co/VH91aKDR37— Steven Dennis (@Steven Dennis) 1544213185
This is quite a thing to tweet about someone you hired for one of the most prominent jobs in the world: https://t.co/TJEahTqitf— Eamon Javers (@Eamon Javers) 1544213176
I guess I should be upset that Trump is going after the former head of Exxon, Rex Tillerson. But I really don't care. Do U? #BeBest— Brianna Wu (@Brianna Wu) 1544213720