Trump's statements when appointing and firing a series of officials

When taking office in January 2017, US President Donald Trump announced a new cabinet with many billionaires and military generals and praised their abilities and contributions to the effort to "Make America Great Again".

More than a year later, Trump's cabinet has witnessed continuous changes, when a series of top officials such as the White House chief of staff, secretary of state or national security advisor have left one after another, some of whom only learned of their dismissal through social media, according toFT.

Reince Priebus

After winning the election, Trump chose Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, aloyal ally in the election campaign, to the position of White House chief of staff.

In announcing the decision, Trump said Reince was a "highly qualified leader" who "led us to a historic victory." "Both of them will now join me in the White House as we work to make America great again," Trump said of Reince and chief strategist Steve Bannon.

However, in July 2017, Trump replaced Priebus with Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly. "I would like to thank Reince Priebus for his service and dedication to our country. We have accomplished a lot together and I am proud of him!" Trump tweeted after the firing.

At the same time, he praised John Kelly, calling him "a great American, a great leader" and "a true star in the administration".

Steve Bannon

Campaign chairman Stephen Bannon was picked by Trump as chief strategist at the same time as Priebus.

A month after Priebus was fired, Bannon also left his position as White House chief strategist on August 18, 2017. Bannon, a populist, became increasingly isolated in the White House after John Kelly became chief of staff. Bannon also expressed views that were contrary to Trump's stance on North Korea.

"I want to thank Bannon for his service. He was on the campaign when I ran against Hillary Clinton - that was great! Thank you very much," Trump wrote on Twitter.

Trump also welcomed Bannon's return to Breitbart News, which Bannon had been executive chairman of before joining his campaign. The US President hopes that Bannon will create competition with "fake news" in the media. Bannon has vowed to promote Trump's agenda and support the President against opponents in Congress, in the media and in the US.

However, the relationship between the two men broke down in January, when a book quoted Bannon's accusation that Donald Trump Jr., the US President's son, had committed treason for meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya in June 2016. Bannon said that Donald Trump Jr. should have called the FBI instead of attending the meeting when asked by Russia.

Trump then became angry and heavily criticized his former chief strategist. "Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind," Trump said on January 4.

"Steve had very little to do with my historic victory," he added. According to the US President, Steve Bannon was just trying to polish his name by "leaking false information to the media to make himself look more important."

On January 7, Bannon expressed regret for his delay in responding, saying he had always supported Trump and his agenda. Bannon also praised Donald Trump Jr. and said his comments about the meeting were directed at former campaign manager Paul Manafort rather than Trump Jr., although the author of the book denies this.

Rex Tillerson

Rex Tillerson, a former CEO of oil giant Exxon Mobil, took office as secretary of state in February 2017. President Trump’s choice of Tillerson for the position was met with skepticism, as Tillerson had no experience in government or diplomacy. His business ties to Russia also raised questions.

Trump, however, dismissed these doubts and heaped praise on Tillerson. "Rex Tillerson's career is the embodiment of the American dream. Through hard work, dedication and smart negotiation, he rose through the ranks to become CEO of Exxon Mobil, one of the largest and most famous companies in the world," Trump said.

"Rex knows how to run a global business, which is essential to successfully managing the State Department. His relationships with leaders around the world are second to none. I cannot think of a more grounded and dedicated person to serve as secretary of state," he added.

However, just a year later, Trump fired Tillerson and replaced him with CIA director Mike Pompeo, citing disagreements between the two as the reason for the decision.

"We get along pretty well, but we have our disagreements," President Trump told reporters at the White House on March 13. "When I looked at the Iran nuclear deal, I thought it was terrible, but he thought it was fine. I wanted to get rid of it or do something, and he thought differently. We didn't really see eye to eye."

HR McMaster

When Trump appointed General HR McMaster as national security adviser on February 20, 2017, he praised him as "a man of great talent and experience." McMaster spent his entire career in the US armed forces, serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Several sources revealed that Trump and McMaster then had months of disagreements. Trump tweeted on March 22 that former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton would be the new national security adviser, replacing McMaster. A White House official said the decision was the result of discussions between McMaster and Trump, with both agreeing that a new team was needed.

"I thank General HR McMaster, who has done a great job and will always be my friend," Trump wrote.

Referring to the personnel changes in the White House, Trump denied that there was "chaos". "People come and go, that's normal. I still want to change some people. I always aim for perfection," he said.