Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has been derisively calling Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner ‘The Royal Family’ behind their backs.
Ian Bremmer, a New York University political science professor and Time magazine columnist who is close to Tillerson and defends him regularly, made that claim Sunday on Twitter.
‘Tillerson has lately taken to calling Jared & Ivanka “the royal family”,’ he tweeted. ‘He’s not expecting to be there long.’
Tillerson found himself on the receiving end of harsh criticism from President Donald Trump over the weekend, sending a signal that the two men are feuding.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is reportedly calling Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump ‘the royal family’ in private
Kushner (left) is married to Ms. Trump (right), and both are senior White House aides
President Donald Trump (left) is feuding with Tillerson over how to handle North Korea
Following news that Tillerson had confirmed that there are direct diplomatic talks between the U.S. and North Korea, the president tweeted a point-blank humiliation.
‘I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man,’ Trump wrote on Twitter. ‘Save your energy Rex, we’ll do what has to be done!’
The implication that Trump envisions only military solutions to the nuclear standoff on the Korean peninsula directly undermined Tillerson’s efforts.
Worse, it laid waste to his international credibility, weakening him in future negotiations with adversaries who will wonder if the president has his back.
Hours after Trump attacked Tillerson, a senior White House official told CNN that the administration is ‘still committed to a diplomatic approach’ as Kim Jong-Un’s totalitarian government marches toward nuclear weapons readiness.
Bremmer called Trump’s broadside ‘[the] stupidest tweet on national security I’ve ever seen from a sitting head of state.’
Ian Bremmer, an NYU political scientist who knows Tillerson, made the startling claim about the diplomat’s new nickname for the couple previously known as ‘Javanka’
Bremmer is also a columnist at Time magazine and an outspoken critic of Trump’s foreign policy leanings
By Sunday morning a Politico magazine feature was openly asking whether Tillerson should resign.
It’s unclear why Bremmer would spread a rumor that Tillerson has a mocking nickname for the president’s elder daughter and her husband, both of whom are senior White House officials.
Bremmer has been a staunch Tillerson backer, saying over the weekend on Twitter that ‘Trump doesn’t remotely understand U.S. national security.’
The Axios news website reports that Ivanka and Jared – onc esneeringly dubbed ‘Javanka’ by former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, have receded into more traditional West Wing roles.
North Korean despot Kim Jong-Un is racing to develop a nuclear missile, and the U.S. is threatening military action
Trump publicly embarrassed Tillerson over the weekend, telling him not to bother negotiating with Pyongang
Their dual status as both Trump’s senior aides and his family members has created resentments among their White House peers.
Now both feel beset by constant attacks from Trump enemies who are using them as a proxy to attack the president.
Having outlasted both Bannon and former chief of staff Reince Priebus, they have become content to follow the lead of new chief John Kelly.
Kelly has professionalized Trump’s previously chaotic managaement structure and exercised strict control over who can and can’t see the president.
‘Now there are proper channels, and they’re just doing what they’re supposed to be doing,’ an insider said of them, according to Axios.