Rex Tillerson

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About

Rex Wayne Tillerson is the former US Secretary of State under United States President Donald Trump and the former CEO and president of Exxon-Mobile. His actions and remarks, particularly those perceived as being critical of the administration, have occasionally been the subject of extensive news coverage and social media activity. Tillerson was fired by Trump in March 2018.

History

Exxon

Tillerson joined Exxon in 1975 as a production engineer. Over the next thirty years, he was promoted to general manager of Exxon Company U.S.A.’s central production division, vice president of Exxon Ventures and, finally, president and director of ExxonMobil.^[1]

On January 1st, 2006, Tillerson assumed the position of chief executive officer and president of Exxon.

Russian "Order of Friendship" Award

Throughout his career, Tillerson has been linked to the Russian government, due to his business dealing with Exxon. IN 2013, the Russian president Vladimir Putin awarded Tillerson the Order of Friendship, a highly coveted Russian honor for foreign nationals who make relations between Russia and the world stronger.^[2]

Secretary of State

Following the election of United States President Donald Trump, Tillerson became a frontrunner for the role of Secretary of State, the highest diplomatic position in the United States.^[3]

On January 23rd, 2017, the senate committee approved Tillerson for Secretary of State.^[4]

"Moron" Remarks

On July 20th, 2017, following a meeting with members of Trump’s national security team and Cabinet official, Tillerson called the president a "fucking moron."^[5]

Several months later, when the incident was reported by NBC,^[6] Trump responded to reports in an interview with Forbes.^[7] He said, "I think it's fake news, but if he did that, I guess we'll have to compare IQ tests. And I can tell you who is going to win."

Following these reports, Tillerson made a statement about the incident and called the president "smart."

Firing

According to reports, on March 9th, 2018, Tillerson, who was on a diplomatic trip in Africa, received a text message from White House chief of staff that read, "you may get a tweet."^[8]

Four days later, President Trump tweeted, "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!" The tweet (shown below) received more than 39,000 retweets and 113,000 likes in 24 hours. The tweet, reportedly, was the first notification that Tillerson recieved about his firing.

On March 13th, 2018, Trump fired Tillerson as Secretary of State and replaced him with Mike Pompeo.

That day, when asked about the firing, a reporter asked Trump he fired Tillerson because he called him a "moron." The exchange went:

Reporter: Did you fire him because he called you a 'moron'?

Trump: What?

Reporter: Did you fire him because he called you a 'moron'?

Trump: Say it again.

Reporter: Did you fire him because he called you a 'moron'?

[This video has been removed]

Tillersoned

On March 13th, 2018, Washington Post editor Karen Attiah tweeted,^[9] "CONFESSION: I once Tillerson-ed an ex by breaking up with him via changing my relationship status to “Single” on Facebook. The day before Valentine’s day. Not my best moment." The tweet (shown below, left) received more than 150 retweets and 1,000 likes.

Following the tweet, more people used the term "Tillersoned," which came to mean ending a relationship on social media without informing the other part first (examples below, center and right). The term echoes the way Tillerson learned of his firing on Twitter.

Several media outlets published stories about the term, including Mashable, ^[10] The Daily Dot ^[11] and more.

Criticism

Russian "Order of Friendship" Award

During the confirmation process, Tillerson's nomination grew highly controversial due to his relationship with Russia. Given the ongoing speculation between the Trump campaign's suspected collusion with the Russian government, some found the nomination suspicious.

Personal Life

Tillerson has been married twice and has twin boys from his first marriage and one son from his current marriage to Renda St. Clair.

Paris Climate Agreement

Tillerson's State Department received significant media attention in the wake of the Trump administration's decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement.

Russiagate

Russiagate refers to the ongoing political scandal surrounding a series of allegations regarding President Donald Trump’s ties to the Russian government, including speculation of collusion between the Trump Presidential campaign and the Russian hack of the DNC email server.