The long-simmering tensions between President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson came to a head Tuesday, when the commander-in-chief announced the ouster of the country’s top diplomat with a tweet.
One political analyst told Cheddar the move was telling.
“It speaks a lot to the character of the two men,” commentator Rick Wilson said. “When Donald Trump was selling steaks, vodka, and a fake university, Rex Tillerson was building Exxon into the largest energy company in the world.
“The anxiety that Trump has about Tillerson being more competent than him has finally played itself out.”
Tillerson reportedly found out about his firing after Trump took to Twitter to announce that CIA Director Mike Pompeo would take over at the State Department.
The president later said he and the former ExxonMobil CEO “were not really thinking the same,” but that Pompeo had a “similar thought process.”
Still, the decision to remove Tillerson came hours after he voiced his support of UK Prime Minister Theresa May and the British government, who on Monday said Russia was likely behind the poisoning of an ex-Moscow spy.
The Trump administration did not officially second those findings.
But Wilson said Tillerson was right to consider Russia “an imminent national security threat.”
“Donald Trump doesn’t see it that way,” he told Cheddar. “There’s something wrong about Donald Trump’s relationship and viewpoint about Vladimir Putin that makes him behave this way, even when serious and consequential people around him are warning him.”
The White House denied Tillerson’s dismissal had anything to do with Russia, instead saying it wanted to have new leadership in place before Trump’s meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, expected this spring.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/no-collusion-and-tillerson-is-out).
Pfizer has asked the FDA to expand authorization of COVID booster shots for all adults. The agency is expected to grant the request in the coming weeks, allowing vaccinated Americans as young as 18 to get boosted before the holidays. Dr. Bayo Curry-Winchell, Regional Clinical Director at Carbon Health, joined Cheddar to discuss.
The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit to block Penguin Random House from acquiring its rival Simon & Schuster. The DOJ hopes this will block the merger, which it says would ultimately hurt authors and consumers nationwide. Barry C. Lynn, executive director of the Open Markets Institute, joined Cheddar to explain what the lawsuit signals about the Biden administration's approach to cracking down on antitrust, and why Amazon might be next.
The major markets took a breather Tuesday, with the Dow, S&P, Nasdaq, and Russell 2000 all finishing lower after notching record closes on Monday. Rhys Williams, Chief Strategist at Spouting Rock Asset Management, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he provides his biggest takeaways from the day's activity.
The U.S. economy added 531,000 jobs in the month of October, painting a better picture of the economy that analysts had expected. Jared Bernstein, Council of Economic Advisers Member for President Biden joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Election Day 2021 is in the books, and it wasn't a pretty picture for Democrats. Governor Phil Murphy narrowly won re-election in New Jersey and Republican Glenn Youngkin upset Democrat Terry McAuliffe in Virginia, with many other disappointing losses for the left. Meridith McGraw, national correspondent for Politico, breaks down the key takeaways from this year as the nation looks ahead to the 2022 midterms.
Markets opened higher to kick off the week as investors continue to digest the better-than-expected jobs report, which showed 531,000 new jobs created in October. Ken Johnson, CFA, Investment Strategy Analyst joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to break down his early market insights.
Almost 2 years into the pandemic, supply chain woes continue to wreak havoc on our everyday lives.
From groceries to chip shortages, both consumers and retailers are feeling the strain with prices only climbing as a result. Data intelligence company Morning Consult is out with its U.S. Economic Outlook for November revealing just how much of a threat these hold-ups could pose to the greater economic recovery. John Leer, Chief Economist at Morning Consult joined Cheddar's Opening Bell.
After many years and at least two presidents hoping to overhaul America's infrastructure, congress finally came to an agreement. The House passed the bipartisan infrastructure bill late Friday, receiving thirteen republican votes but failing to earn votes from the six progressive squad members. Joseph Zeballos-Roig, Economics Reporter at Insider joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the economic impact of the bill.
