Politics

Trump Moves Closer to Presidency of One With Tillerson Firing

Removing constraints on a leader determined to pursue own path
Pivot as critical choices loom on North Korea, Iran and trade

Robert Hormats, vice chairman at Kissinger Associates, discusses Rex Tillerson’s firing. (Source: Bloomberg)

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By Toluse Olorunnipa and Nick Wadhams

March 14, 2018 at 8:00 AM UTC

Updated on

March 14, 2018 at 12:06 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

In accepting the Republican nomination for president in 2016, Donald Trump described a nation plagued with problems and declared: “I alone can fix it.”

Now, as he fires top aides who were a moderating force and replaces them with loyalists who share his world view and won’t object to his most controversial impulses, his administration is fast becoming a presidency of one.