Media, 2016: Tillerson is a Putin puppet!; Media, today: Trump fired Tillerson because he unloaded on Putin!

If ever there was a time for the “thinking face emoji” — ? — this is it.

Remember back in 2016 when the media and Dems were all in on how Rex Tillerson was a Putin stooge? Some examples:

Rex Tillerson, Trump's pick for secretary of state, was awarded Russia's "Order of Friendship" by Vladimir Putin. https://t.co/iarB0w4Kbq pic.twitter.com/5eoq3szxPE

— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) December 24, 2016

Tillerson disagrees with Trump on TPP and the Paris Climate Deal, but is one of the few that agrees with him on Putin, which says it all https://t.co/Kyir21lPyH

— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) December 13, 2016

I love this headline, mostly bc of the imagery of Putin gazing longingly into Rex Tillerson's eyes https://t.co/RC3JtEj7na pic.twitter.com/jP9apAQX5l

— Megan Hess (@mhess4) December 22, 2016

Rex Tillerson first met Putin in 1999. He's been cultivating the Russian leader ever since https://t.co/jxGTDypiyt pic.twitter.com/yjcxI27l0c

— Bloomberg (@business) December 22, 2016

Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State: close ties to Putin with no foreign policy experience. pic.twitter.com/LcYsfXNQ7e

— The Democrats (@TheDemocrats) December 11, 2016

And now the narrative is that Trump fired Tillerson because of comments the now former Secretary of State made linking Putin to the poisoning of a former Russian spy in London last week:

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And some examples from today:

Putin’s firing of Rex Tillerson re: his remarks firmly placing blame on Russia for the poisoning of British spies should be investigated to the fullest extent by Mueller. #REXIT

— Will LeGate (@williamlegate) March 13, 2018

Tillerson getting fired the day after he publicly chastised Putin is pretty wild https://t.co/NW1pqjFAjJ

— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) March 13, 2018

By firing Tillerson one day after he publicly stated that Russia behind a WMD attack on British soil, we now have proof Trump is colluding with Putin. I don’t know if he did in the election. But he is doing it NOW in front of our eyes. He is Kremlin-owned.

— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) March 13, 2018

So lemme get this right, the day Rex Tillerson calls out @Russia & Putin for poisoning a man in London while the @WhiteHouse stays mum, @realDonaldTrump fires him #Treason

— Fernand R. Amandi (@AmandiOnAir) March 13, 2018

As we told you earlier, the White House says that Trump fired Tillerson on Friday:

https://twitter.com/byrdinator/status/973544612450197504

But it looks like State Department is claiming Tillerson never talked to Trump about it:

Remarkable statement from State Department spokesman on Tillerson firing: pic.twitter.com/iBpLaK1tXw

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) March 13, 2018

More to come on this, we’re sure:

WH saying Tillerson was informed Friday, but State Dept statement today seems to indicate he just found out today. Which *really* makes one wonder about the role of the Russia statement yesterday.

— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) March 13, 2018

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