US President Donald Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Tuesday and replaced him with CIA director Mike Pompeo, ending an acrimonious 13-month relationship.

In an impromptu press conference on the White House lawn, Trump told reporters there was a “chemistry” problem between him and Tillerson.

“It was different mindset. It was a different thinking,” Trump said, adding: “I think Rex will be much happier now.”

A senior White House official said Trump wanted to orchestrate a change to his national security team ahead of planned high-stakes talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Tillerson, a Texan and the chief executive of energy company ExxonMobil for a decade before joining the administration, has long been dogged by reports that his time in office will be cut short.

Trump frequently cast Tillerson as weak and clueless. Their long-simmering tensions erupted into the public in October, after Tillerson suggested the US could engage in talks with North Korea.

“I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man ... ‘Save your energy Rex, we’ll do what has to be done!’ Trump tweeted on October 1.

Days later NBC News reported that Tillerson had called the president a “moron” after a July meeting at the Pentagon with members of Trump’s national security team and Cabinet officials. Tillerson never denied using the description, but said he would not be part of any effort to divide the administration.
Trump then challenged his top diplomat “to compare IQ tests” in a interview with Forbes magazine.
The 65-year-old Tillerson was at odds with a number of Trump’s policies. For example, he favoured the US remaining in the Paris climate accord and has been less harsh towards Iran on questions relating to a deal to keep it from attaining nuclear weapons.
DPA, 13th MARCH, 2018