Rex Tillerson

Growing Numbers Of Conservatives Work Against Donald Trump

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Anti Trump conservatives have grown to be a substantial force inside the Republican Party and outside party loyalties.

Among the multitude of those who oppose Trump’s campaign in 2024 are:

President George W. Bush
Former Vice President Mike Pence
Former Vice President Dick Cheney
Former Attorney General William Barr
Former National Security Adviser John Bolton
Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper
Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly
Former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis
Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
Former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney
Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
Senator Mitt Romney of Utah
Senator John Thune of South Dakota
Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana
Former Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee
Former Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona
Former Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska
Former Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania
Former Speaker of the House John Boehner
Former Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming
Former Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois
Former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan
Former Congressman Joe Scarborough of Florida
Governor Chris Sununu of New Hampshire
Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia
Governor Kim Reynolds of Iowa
Former Governor Jeb Bush of Florida
Former Governor John Kasich of Ohio
Former Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey
Former Governor Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas
Former Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland
Former Governor George Pataki of New York
Former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California
Former US Appeals Court Judge J. Michael Luttig

Also political commentators, including

Mona Charen
Ann Coulter
S E Cupp
David Frum
Bill Kristol
Ben Shapiro
Nicolle Wallace

Nikki Haley Has Damaged Her Image Irreparably With Criticism Of Rex Tillerson And John Kelly Opposition To Donald Trump, And Her Laudatory Endorsement Of Trump

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Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, earlier Governor of South Carolina, always had a good reputation, including her opposition to Donald Trump’s candidacy in 2016 for the Presidency.

When she agreed, however, to be his UN Ambassador, her image was harmed, although she came across as one of a very few Trump appointees not involved in corruption nor in unseemly advocacy of horrific policies.

There is no question that Haley has political ambitions, but her decision to criticize former Trump appointees Rex Tillerson and John Kelly for trying to recruit her to undermine Trump, makes her look totally unable to see the danger that Trump represents in both domestic and foreign policy, and on the issue of separation of powers.

It seems clear that Haley is trying to undermine Vice President Mike Pence, and possibly replace him as the Vice Presidential nominee in 2020.

This shows she has no principles, decency, ethics, morals, or scruples other than her own advancement. She is totally delusional, when she says Trump was always truthful, and that she had no doubts about his capability to be President, a mind boggling assertion on her part! How could she say that Trump listened well, and that she always enjoyed working with him, when we know that Trump is on a constant rampage of anger on Twitter and in public statements?

So she has lost a lot of decent Americans who wanted to believe she was a quality figure, a rare one, but now it is clear she has no concern except her own aggrandizement. She is willing to see the destruction of the Republican Party by her constant endorsement of the worst President in American history, a denial of all GOP Presidents of the past!

So Nikki Haley is just another typical disgraceful Republican who should be repudiated for future political office, as she is willing to accept the lawless, abuse of power, and obstruction of justice of Donald Trump!

Trump, Pompeo, Bolton Seem Ready To Create New Wars, Against Iran And Venezuela

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It is becoming very clear that President Donald Trump, in league with war hawks Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton are plotting wars in the near future against both Iran and Venezuela.

Bolton was involved in the planning and support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and both he and Pompeo are ratcheting up excuses for war in both places. This would add dramatically to the national debt, kill and wound thousands of American troops, destroy two more nations with American military armaments, but would both drag on endlessly, and cause a total collapse of traditional American foreign policy and support from our traditional allies.

Donald Trump has no clue on foreign policy, and is willing to flirt with Kim Jong Un of North Korea, but destroyed the Iran nuclear agreement that other major nations signed onto. And while Venezuela is in a crisis with their President Nicolas Maduro, the danger of American military intervention would have a long range damaging effect on our relationships with Latin American nations.

Trump supposedly was against our interventions in the past, but now seems to think that if he gets America into two more wars, he will have the advantage of being a President in wartime, and historically, every President in the midst of war has won reelection.

At the same time, the tariff “wars” going on with China and other nations, undermines America economically, and will cause massive price increases and loss of jobs in many industries, which would likely lead to an economic recession, and traditionally, causes the defeat of Presidents running for reelection.

So we could face massive wars without end, but also a massive economic collapse, and our government is led by totally reckless and dangerous people.

Oh, but for the days of Rex Tillerson and H. R. McMaster, who were able to resist the destructive and egotistical tendencies of our mentally deranged President!

More Turnover In Trump Administration As Two Year Mark Of Term Arrives Next Month

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Yet more turnover is occurring in the Trump Administration as the half way mark of his term arrives in a month.

John Kelly is gone as White House Chief of Staff, and Trump had many people turn him down as Kelly’s replacement , and now the head of the Office Of Management and Budget, former Tea Party South Carolina Republican Congressman Mick Mulvaney, has agreed to be “Acting” head, as his insistence.  Mulvaney is actually worse than Kelly, more outrageous in his extremism, including when he headed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for awhile, with the aim of destroying this signature legislation and agency created by Elizabeth Warren and President Barack Obama in 2010.

And the despicable Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, under multiple investigations for conflicts of interest and widespread damage to the preservation of our environment and the national monuments and national parks, will be leaving by the end of the year.

This is after other cabinet members, including Rex Tillerson, Jeff Sessions, Tom Price, David Shulkin, Nikki Haley, and Scott Pruitt have left, all under a cloud except Haley. 

Additionally, Betsy DeVos, Kirstjen Nielsen, Alex Acosta, Wilbur Ross, Matthew Whitaker, Steven Mnuchin, Ben Carson, and Rick Perry have faced major criticisms and investigations over policies and utterances.

This is, without question, the most corrupt and incompetent and investigated Cabinet of any Presidency in all of American history, and two more years to come.

First Revelations From Bob Woodward Book On Donald Trump Makes For A Greater Constitutional Crisis Than Even Realized Until Now

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The new Bob Woodward book–FEAR: TRUMP IN THE WHITE HOUSE–is not due out until Tuesday, September 11, but early revelations about the contents of the book make it clear that America and the world is in its greatest constitutional and foreign policy crisis since the infamous September 11, 2001!

The book contains evidence that the top people around Trump think of him as a moron, an idiot, a sixth grader, as someone who cannot be taught or explained anything, as an unhinged person who is dangerous and unstable. Trump is also described as a compulsive liar, and someone who is regularly furious, angry, and frustrated for long periods of time, and spending hours watching cable news and utilizing Twitter.

Those cited include John Kelly, White House Chief of Staff; James Mattis, Secretary of Defense; Rob Porter, former White House Staff Secretary to the President; Reince Preibus, former White House Chief of Staff; Gary Cohn, former Presidential Economic Adviser; and Rex Tillerson, former Secretary of State.

A lot of incendiary and insulting language is used by these people and others in quotes that Woodward gained in doing his research, This has never happened to this extent before, not even under President Richard Nixon during Watergate!

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are also described in an unflattering manner, as acting privileged and self serving.

So as much as we knew or perceived before, now we are fully in awareness of the potential disaster we are facing, and the urgency of the immediate removal of Donald Trump from the Oval Office!

The good thing is that Kelly and Mattis, both military veterans, are staying on for now, and they can help protect the nation from the maniacal behavior of Trump, including, apparently, the prevention of the signing by Trump of documents that would be destructive in domestic and foreign policy, with Trump apparently not aware that the documents he was supposed to sign had disappeared.

If and when these two military veterans are fired or choose to resign, then the danger of Trump becoming ever more dangerous to the nation and the world accelerates.

Seriously, with obvious dismay by many Trump associates, it is time for Vice President Mike Pence and the cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment, Section 4, and remove Trump from the Oval Office sooner, rather than later!

Donald Trump’s White House Culture Of Corruption: One Of Sleaze, Crooks, Scam Artists, Incompetence, And Pure Greed

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Donald Trump’s White House is one of sleaze, crooks, scam artists, incompetence, and pure greed!

Who among people who work around Donald Trump have faced accusations or more, fitting the descriptions above?

The list is long, with no special order, with the first list (10) being former officials.

Michael Flynn, former National Security Adviser
Paul Manafort, former Trump campaign Chairman
Steve Bannon, former Senior Counselor to the President, and former White House Chief Strategist
Anthony Scaramucci, former White House Director of Communications
Hope Hicks, former White House Director of Communications
Tom Price, former Secretary of Health and Human Services
Scott Pruitt, former head of the Environmental Protection Agency
Rex Tillerson, former Secretary of State
Sean Spicer, former White House Press Secretary
Reince Priebus, former White House Chief of Staff

The list of officials (14) who are still working for Donald Trump, and fit the title of this blog entry, include, in order of ranking in the cabinet:

Secretary of The Treasury Steven Mnuchin
Attorney General Jeff Sessions
Secretary of The Interior Ryan Zinke
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue
Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson
Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao
Secretary of Energy Rick Perry
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos
Former Secretary of Homeland Security, and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly
Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen
Director of the Office of Management and Budget and Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Mick Mulvaney
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders
White House Lawyer Rudy Giuliani

These two lists and total of 24 people are only the best known and most reported upon, but there are numerous others, lower down in influence and notice, who have also added to the degradation of the Trump Presidency.

Also, there is the corruption within the Trump family, including Donald Trump Jr, Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner, making this President’s family the most disgraceful First Family we have ever seen.

And we cannot ignore the reality that Vice President Mike Pence seems involved in the Trump scandals, if nothing else than simply his silence, and his constant nodding like a bobble head behind Trump, as he makes outrageous accusations and personal attacks.

There are also those who either left or were forced out due to controversy over their disagreements with Trump, with Gary Cohn, former Chief Economic Adviser, and H. R. McMaster, former National Security Adviser, two of the more well known and competent people who could not survive in the Trump White House.

So again, this list above is far from complete, but it demonstrates, minus Cohn and McMaster, the disaster of the Trump Presidency, easily the most corrupt and incompetent administration, with the strong likelihood of more indictments and convictions once the Trump Presidency has been completed, than any other President, certain to surpass Richard Nixon, Warren G. Harding, and Ulysses S Grant, for the level of disgrace brought upon the White House!

There will be many volumes in the future, analyzing and dissecting all of the specific examples of corruption during the time Donald Trump will have been in office.

Trump Cabinet Members: One Disaster After Another, From Tom Price To Ronny Jackson!

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The Trump Cabinet is one disaster after another.

Trump has dismissed many people behind him, both those in his Cabinet, and others in positions of authority, and others have come under fire, but are still there.

Rex Tillerson, Tom Price, David Shulkin are gone, along with Reince Priebus, Michael Flynn, H. R. McMaster, and Sean Spicer, and Scott Pruitt, Ryan Zinke, Jeff Sessions, Steve Mnuhcin, Betsy DeVos, Wilbur Ross, Ben Carson, Mick Mulvaney, and now Ronny Jackson are under scrutiny. Even John Kelly, the second White House Chief of Staff, has lost his reputation serving Trump.

There has been more turnover, including the White House Chief of Staff, National Security Adviser, and White House Press Secretary, than under any President after just 15 months.

The above mentioned list of present cabinet officers, as well as Ronny Jackson, the White House Physician now nominated to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs, have had issues of corruption and malfeasance, and are under a cloud that may force all of them to leave the administration over time.

Just about the only Trump advisers who are seen as “clean” are Secretary of Defense James Mattis and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.

Richard Nixon, Warren G. Harding, Ulysses S. Grant, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush all had a substantial number of people who served in their administrations forced out, or indicted, convicted, and sentenced to prison, but it looks as if Donald Trump is presiding over the most disgraceful group of advisers we have ever seen in any Presidency!

The War Cabinet Emerges: Larry Kudlow, Mike Pompeo, And John Bolton: Great Depression And Aggressive War Against North Korea And Iran On The Horizon!

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Donald Trump has now forced out Gary Cohn, Rex Tillerson, and H. R. Mc Master, and replaced them with Larry Kudlow, Mike Pompeo, and John Bolton, and this turnover after only 14 months in the White House is a danger sign of trouble ahead.

Trump’s “Tariff Wars”, discouraged by Cohn, now will move forward, and Tillerson and Mc Master, both strong in their criticism of Trump oriented foreign policy of “America First”, upending traditional foreign policy for 70 years, now will move into a phase of aggressiveness in foreign policy that is likely to lead to warfare.

One can now expect that we might end up in a Great Depression, or at least a Great Recession, as we are going down the road of protectionism, which was pursued by Benjamin Harrison in 1890 with the McKinley Tariff, which led to the Panic of 1893; and also pursued by Herbert Hoover in 1930 with the Smoot Hawley Tariff, which made the already begun Great Depression much more deeper.

And we can expect that with Mike Pompeo and particularly, John Bolton, two hawks in foreign policy, the first being a Tea Party activist elected to the House of Representatives, and the second, unable to be confirmed by a Republican Senate to be United Nations Ambassador, and only there for less than a year as a recess appointment under George W. Bush, and very much advocating “regime change” regarding North Korea and Iran, we can expect two wars before the year 2018 is over.

Trump may be thinking that getting engaged in two wars will cause “patriots” to rally around the flag, and help the Republicans to retain their control of both houses of Congress, and one must recall that in Presidential years, anytime there there has been a war, the President running for reelection has always won.

So Trump might be planning to use war as a way to a second term in office, which history must make every sane person be alarmed over such prospect!

Firing Of Rex Tillerson Likely The Beginning Of Another Big Purge As Trump Plans To Have Sycophants Surrounding Him, Making Him Ever More Dangerous!

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Face the truth: Secretary Of State Rex Tillerson was a horrible cabinet officer, totally unqualified, having no background in diplomacy, and a detriment to the State Department and its long term future.

But having said that, Tillerson opposed Trump on many issues, and we know he said that Trump was a F—-Moron, which Trump. most assuredly, is!

But Tillerson was kept on until now, and now former Tea Party Kansas Republican Congressman Mike Pompeo, head of the Central Intelligence Agency, will replace him, which is not good long term, as Pompeo is a sycophant, and war with North Korea and Iran are much more likely events as a result. This would be a repeat of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld foisted upon us!

The fear is this is just the beginning of another big purge, as Trump clearly wants sycophants surrounding him, making him ever more dangerous in both foreign and domestic policy.

So expect more hard line, right wingers to take control, unless somehow Trump can be removed from office.

Expect John Kelly, White House Chief of Staff; H. R. McMaster, National Security Adviser; Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education; Ben Carson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; First Daughter Ivanka Trump; son in law Jared Kushner; and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to be gone sometime later this year, and others may follow them.

This is not a defense of these people, who are all despicable, but simply a sign that Trump is out to “clean house”, and becomes more dangerous every day.

The Battle To Succeed Rex Tillerson As Secretary Of State: Mike Pompeo, Nikki Haley, Bob Corker, Lindsey Graham

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It is clear that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will not survive beyond the first month or two of 2018.

Tillerson has been the absolute worst Secretary of State in modern times, and maybe all time, totally unqualified, totally inexperienced, totally incompetent in defending the State Department and its diplomatic corps against attempts of Donald Trump to destroy our foreign policy, in the name of supporting Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

The fact that Tillerson was the head of Exxon, and received an award from Putin in 2015, does not help promote confidence in his leadership.

But at the same time, Tillerson has clearly opposed Trump on many issues, and even said he was a “F—– Moron”, although refusing to give credibility to that press report.

Tillerson has tried, in his own inefficient manner, to stop the destructive tendencies and rhetoric of his boss, often contradicting Trump, and working to prevent conflict and turmoil as much as he can, including promoting diplomacy with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.

The question is who should replace him, and right now, it seems as if CIA head Mike Pompeo, previously a Republican Congressman from Kansas, is the front runner, but Pompeo has a very hard line view on many issues, which makes him far from desirable.

Also, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley may have a chance to get the job, but she has just lost credibility by her threats to UN members over their vote against US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. However, by showing loyalty to Donald Trump, she may have advanced her case to become the top diplomat, and one can hope that her action at the UN was more political than anything else, and that she would provide a comparatively more stable course in American diplomacy, and that Donald Trump might listen to her more than he does to Rex Tillerson.

Then, there are the wild cards of Tennessee Republican Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who has recently been highly critical of Trump, and who Trump has regularly denounced; and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, a good friend of Arizona Senator John McCain, who has played golf a lot with Trump lately, and has curbed his criticism of Trump dramatically, as has Bob Corker, who has been backtracking in an amazing reversal this past few days.

Both Corker and Graham now seem totally unprincipled, but it could be a tactic to try and change Donald Trump’s view of the world, much like it might be the strategy of Nikki Haley.

In the new month or two, we shall see what transpires, and as always, coverage of Donald Trump is never boring!