Former Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson spoke Thursday in a rare appearance in Houston about the times he butted heads with President Trump.
Mr. Tillerson made his comments at a charity event at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, The Houston Chronicle reported.
“So often, the president would say here’s what I want to do and here’s how I want to do it and I would have to say to him, Mr. President I understand what you want to do, but you can’t do it that way. It violates the law,” Mr. Tillerson said, according to The Chronicle.
The former secretary of state explained that he and the president operated in two drastically different ways that had virtually no common ground.
He said Mr. Trump would get frustrated during their conversations when the top diplomat would suggest going through Congress to change the laws.
Mr. Tillerson said Twitter was a key part in winning the 2016 election, but the social media’s influence concerned him.
“I will be honest with you, it troubles me that the American people seem to want to know so little about issues, that they are satisfied with a 128 characters,” Mr. Tillerson said, though he stressed it was a criticism of society not specifically the president.
Mr. Tillerson had a tenuous relationship with Mr. Trump throughout his time in the administration until he was nixed in March. The president tapped the current Secretary of State Michael Pompeo to replace him.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.