Tillerson, who was ousted in March 2018, told the magazine: “I used to go to meetings with a list of four to five things I needed to talk to him about and I quickly learned that if I reached three, it would be a home run, and I realized that getting two that were significant was probably the best goal. “
He added that “he started taking pictures and graphics with (him) because I found that they seemed to hold his attention better”.
“I think the other challenge that I realized right at the beginning is that there were so many people who had access to his ear and were telling him things, many of which were false, and then he started hearing these voices and forming a vision that had no basis in fact, “said the former secretary of state.
“So you spent an excessive amount of time trying to find out why this is not true, finding out why it is not factual, finding out why this is not the basis on which you want to understand this, you need to put that aside, let’s talk about what real. I think it was a challenge as big as anything, “said Tillerson.
His complimentary statements, however, faced renewed criticism by American diplomats last week, who believe Pompeo’s celebratory sentiments are shocking, considering the turmoil and violence that marked Trump’s last days in office, three American diplomats told CNN .
On Wednesday morning, as the House prepared to debate and vote on Trump’s second impeachment, Pompeo tweeted suggesting that he should receive the Nobel Prize.
Pompeo also remained loyal and supported Trump – condemning the violent mobs, but in no way suggesting that Trump incited the insurrection – while a handful of other cabinet secretaries resigned after the violent siege on Capitol Hill.
A primary difference that may explain the daylight between Pompeo and Tillerson: Pompeo has future political ambitions and Tillerson does not.
“Unfortunately for Tillerson, he experienced the taste of politics and probably never wants to have anything to do with it again,” said Douglas Heye, a strategist for the Republican Party. “But Pompeo is one of the people who wants to go after Trump’s name and wants to continue to do so. What can be politically advantageous for Pompeo is that he can announce the successes of Trump’s foreign policy and stay away from what happened in last week because he has no ownership of it, while some of his Republican competitors, like Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz, have.
Tillerson, who remained relatively quiet about his administration as Trump’s top diplomat, also made it clear that he is in total disagreement with Pompeo regarding the Trump administration’s Chinese policy.
“We are nowhere with China when it comes to national security. We are worse off today than before he arrived, and I didn’t think that was possible,” he said.
Tillerson said he believed China would be the biggest problem for the next Biden government.
“I fear that we will enter military conflict with China within a decade and that will happen when they enter Taiwan. They have been putting all their pieces in place for a long time to do this, and that is [Chinese President Xi Jinping’s] legacy, to bring China together, “he said.
Trump’s policy towards China – which has become overwhelmingly aggressive in the latter part of his presidency, especially when he tried to blame China for the coronavirus – is seen by Pompeo as one of the government’s greatest achievements.
Tillerson said he “could never understand” Trump’s depreciation of his allies.
“He saw them as weak people. He used to say that over and over. I don’t know why he saw them as weak, unless they supervised free countries,” he said.
Tillerson also failed to understand Trump’s desire to court opponents, he said, noting that the president’s meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un “was one of the last drops between him and me”.
Although Pompeo was known to be skeptical of the success of Trump’s approach to Kim, sources told CNN, he never said it publicly. Instead, he has consistently supported Trump’s approach and even announced Trump’s meetings with Kim as effective, although they have not produced tangible results in the denuclearization of North Korea.