The White House intentionally released information on Thursday that President Trump was considering replacing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in an attempt to embarrass and humiliate the top diplomat, according to a report published Friday morning.
Trump’s team hopes the negative attention on Tillerson will pressure him to “punch out” on his own, a source told CNN a source told CNN.
Trump personally proposed replacing Tillerson with CIA Director Mike Pompeo and moving Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., over to the intelligence agency.
Tillerson has been in trouble with Trump for months, and reportedly called Trump a “moron.” Tillerson refused to say whether that was true, but the State Department later said it never happened.
Trump, Tillerson, and Defense Secretary James Mattis have a pre-scheduled lunch at the White House on Friday.
