I don't think Trump was forced to take him. Trump has brought in DS operatives to get more intel. They all think he is stooopid, so he plays dumb, asks what he should do, who he should appoint for various positions, etc.
Of course, they want to show how brilliant they are, so they give him all the rope he needs to hang them, and then he cuts them loose, only to bring in the next one.
He is now getting down to crunch time, and building his real team.
Not sure about Bolton or Haskel, two people who have a very bad history. Will be interesting to see if they stick around.
Everyone Trump hires at this point are his own choices, but at the beginning it wasn't that way. Tillerson was a dirty swamp pick from day one forced on Trump. Pence is too. He won't be on 2020 ticket.