Readers React: Rex Tillerson was bad at his job, but his attachment to reality made him a star in the Trump administration

To the editor: In the latest episode of “The White House Apprentice,” Rex Tillerson was fired from his secretary of State job. (“Mission impossible: Running stable foreign policy for an unstable president,” March 13)

He wasn’t let go by the host’s signature gesture of pointing his finger and pronouncing the dreaded words, “You’re fired,” but by the president’s evolved method: an announcement on Twitter.

It is true that Tillerson has done deep damage to one of our key institutions by following President Trump’s disruption of government as we know it. However, as much as one can disagree with him, Tillerson was also part of a shrinking cadre of high-ranking members of the Trump administration still in contact with reality.

Many of us have been counting on this small group to keep the president from acting upon some of the more outrageous ideas that he expressed in the past, including his “big button.” The worst fears from when Trump was first elected are manifesting on a daily basis.

Michael Telerant, Los Angeles

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To the editor: Pro-Israel advocates should be pleased at Tillerson’s replacement by Mike Pompeo (pending Senate confirmation).

During his 14 months at the State Department, Tillerson reportedly opposed Trump’s foreign policy agenda. Instead, he mirrored the views of a State Department that in recent times has treated Israel poorly.

Pompeo, on the other hand, seems more in sync with Trump. After the constant disputes between Tillerson and Trump, having Pompeo as secretary of State will be a welcome change. The only question is, why did it take this long to replace Tillerson in this critical position?

Nelson Marans, New York

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To the editor: The only thing to be learned from Trump’s firing of Tillerson is that you can’t call a moron a moron if the moron is your boss.

Murray Levy, Pacific Palisades

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