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Trump Fires Tillerson After Visiting Nigeria

Barely 24 hours after his visit to Nigeria, Rex Tillerson was fired as the 69th United States Secretary of State.Tillerson was in Nigeria and Chad on the last leg of his maiden trip to Africa. But he cut short his visit “due to demands in (his) schedule,” the State Department said.

Tillerson had barely landed in the U.S. when President Donald Trump yesterday announced his sack in a tweet.“Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State. He will do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service! Gina Haspel will become the new Director of the CIA, and the first woman so chosen. Congratulations to all!”

While he was in Nigeria, the Secretary of State assured Nigeria of U.S. support in the fight against terrorism.“Nigeria has the United States’ full support and we are actively working with our partners in what we can to assist you in this fight.”

Prior to Tillerson’s visit, reports in the U.S. media had indicated tension between the president and his secretary. An NBC report claimed that Tillerson had described the president as a “moron,” and with Trump responded by inviting Tillerson to an IQ test.

The two had also disagreed over the U.S. –North Korean crisis. While Tillerson favours negotiating with the Korean, Trump disagreed. Trump reportedly said he wished his secretary of state were tougher.

“I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man,” Trump tweeted last year. Tillerson served between February 1, 2017 and March 13, 2018. His successor, Pompeo would be the 70th person to hold office as Secretary of State since its creation in 1789.

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