US Secretary of State distancing himself from Trump

TEHRAN(defapress) – US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson distanced himself from his boss when he said that President Donald Trump 'speaks for himself' not on behalf of the American people.

News ID: 65757

Date: 28 August 2017 - 14:14

Tillerson lashed out at Trump for his stance on the racist violence in Virginia during an interview on Sunday with the American TV Fox News.

He said that the President does not speak for the country and people.

A US citizen drove his car into the crowed in anti 'white supremacy' protest in Charlottesville, Virginia on Aug 12.

The 20-year-old man is well-known for his 'Neo-Nazism' ideas.

Although Trump initially denounced the racist violence, his remarks blaming 'the two sides' prompted much criticism.

Trump's general approach towards racial discrimination has also faced global objections.

The United Nations, for instance, has called on US politicians to strongly condemn the racist and hate crimes in Charlottesville and other parts of the country.

"We are alarmed by the racist demonstrations, with overtly racist slogans, chants and salutes by white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and the Ku Klux Klan, promoting white supremacy and inciting racial discrimination and hatred,” the UN website quoted Anastasia Crickley, Chairperson of UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) as saying.

Answering a question whether he is distancing himself from the President way of thinking regarding racism, the US Secretary of State referred to the speech he made the previous week at the US Department of States.

In his address, Tillerson condemned hate and racist crimes as well as those who support such crimes.

In recent days, some reports have suggested that some US veteran diplomats working with the Trump administration preferred to step down and that some have even been pushed out of the White House.

'Tracey Ann Jacobson, 52, a career foreign service officer who served as acting director of the Bureau for International Organization Affairs, announced her plans to take early retirement' on Friday, according to the Foreign Policy magazine.

The announcement comes 'just three weeks before President Donald Trump is scheduled to deliver his maiden address before world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly’s annual debate,' the American magazine added.

The Foreign Policy also reported that 'William Rivington Brownfield, who has been serving as US Assistant Secretary of State of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs since January 10, 2011, has told his department that he would also step down by the end of September.'