In the meantime, he fired Thi's successor Nguyễn Văn Chuân because he wanted a firmer attempt to regain control, and appointed Tôn Thất Đính to replace him. Đính claimed to have calmed the situation, but Kỳ viewed the situation as appeasement, and on May 15, his forces drove off Đính and took over. During the previous month, American forces had also become involved in the stand-off, and the Struggle Movement viewed their participation as biased towards Kỳ, leading to some tense confrontations.
While he was trying to regain control, Thi's successor Nguyễn Văn Chuân was dismissed by him. Tôn Thất Đính replaced him.  Đính claimed to have calmed the situation, but Kỳ saw it as appeasement and took over on May 15th. American forces had also become involved in the standoff during the previous month, and the Struggle Movement felt they were biased towards Kỳ, leading to tense confrontations.