Trump calls Rex Tillerson 'dumb as a rock' and 'lazy as hell'
President Trump did not take former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's recent comments about him very well.
Tillerson said in an interview Friday that Trump is "pretty undisciplined" and often had to be told the things he wanted to do were illegal. Trump shot back on Twitter by calling him "dumb as a rock." Tillerson, Trump said, didn't "have the mental capacity needed" to be secretary of state, a position he held for 13 months. In fact, Trump wrote that he "couldn't get rid of him fast enough," twisting the knife just a bit more by calling Tillerson "lazy as hell." But everything is going fine at the State Department now, Trump insists.
In his interview with CBS News just hours before Trump's tweet, Tillerson said he and Trump did not "have a common value system" and claimed Trump "doesn't like to read." Trump fired Tillerson in March, at the time insisting that the two actually "got along well." Tillerson had reportedly called Trump a "moron" once in a meeting, a comment that CNN's Kaitlan Collins reports the president "never got over."
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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