What Tillerson’s Firing Really Says

There has been another changeup of White House staffing with last week’s firing of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. While the move surprised many including Tillerson, it does send a fairly clear message, writes Newhouse public relations professor of practice, Steven Pike, in an op-ed for the Huffington Post.

“First, the brusque manner of the dismissal will intimidate disagreement and strangle rational debate of policy options ― disastrous conditions for making foreign policy,” he wrote. “The president has made it clear that he cares far more about getting what he wants than what he (or the nation) needs, and that anyone who gets in his way will be handled with the tender delicacy of a wrecking ball.”