GOP Congressman Defends Conflicting Trump-Tillerson Policies as a ‘Strategy’
.@RepSeanDuffy: “I don’t buy into the idea President Trump doesn’t have control over his admin.,” it’s his strategy https://t.co/Lyx7WekfFU
— New Day (@NewDay) October 9, 2017
Rep. Sean Duffy appeared on New Day Monday morning and defended President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s apparently contradictory approaches to North Korea.
The Wisconsin Republican first responded to Sen. Bob Corker’s remarks that Trump’s rhetoric could set the U.S. “on the path to World War III,” arguing that the approach of past administrations to North Korea has failed.
“President Trump is taking a new approach, which I think is smart,” Duffy said.
CNN’s Alisyn Camerota asked whether Duffy was talking about “Secretary Tillerson’s approach of diplomacy or President Trump’s approach of tweeting?”
Duffy replied that “you can’t separate Tillerson from Trump,” to which Camerota pointed out that the two have disagreed publicly about policy with regards to North Korea.
“I don’t buy into the idea President Trump doesn’t have control over his administration,” Duffy said. “I look at Tillerson, maybe it looks like he’s going in one direction and Trump looks like he’s going in another.”
“Is there some strategy that the president has here?” Duffy asked. “To keep people off their game and off balance?”
“I don’t know is there?” Camerota asked.
“I think there is,” Duffy said.
“You think that’s strategy?” Camerota pressed. “You think Tillerson is trying one thing and President Trump is deliberately saying something that is antithetical to that to keep people confused?”
Duffy said he did, and that Trump doesn’t have a hesitation to fire people, “whether is was on reality TV shows or in the White House,” and that if the two actually disagreed, Tillerson would have been shown the door.
Watch above, via CNN.
[image via screengrab]
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