Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says he often had to prevent Trump from violating the law

Nine months after being fired by President Trump, former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has some pretty unflattering things to say about his old boss.

Tillerson spoke with CBS News on Thursday and said it was "challenging ... to go to work for a man who is pretty undisciplined, doesn't like to read, doesn't read briefing reports, doesn't like to get into the details of a lot of things." He also suggested that during his tenure, he was often stepping in to tell Trump that the thing he was trying to do was illegal. "I'd have to say to him, 'Mr. President, I understand what you want to do, but you can't do it that way. It violates the law. It violates treaty.'" This made Trump "really frustrated," he said.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.