Trump-Tillerson tensions
Relationship still strained as U.S. faces high-stakes international crises
The strained relationship between President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson came under renewed focus Sunday, as the nation’s top diplomat insisted that Trump has not undermined him even as he again refused to deny calling the president “a moron.”
Tensions between the two men have grown while the nation faces a series of high-stakes international crises, including the threat posed by North Korea and fate of the Iran nuclear deal, and threatens to sow doubt about American allies as to whether Tillerson can speak authoritatively for the United States. The secretary of state insisted that he has a strong working relationship with the president without any name-calling.
“I call the president ‘Mr. President.’ He and I have a very, very open, frank and candid relationship. We have a very open exchange of views on policy,” Tillerson said during an interview with Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “At the end of the day, he makes decisions. I go out and do the best I can to execute those decisions successfully.
“He has assembled a very, I think, unconventional team,” Tillerson continued. “He himself is an unconventional president.
He’s assembled an unconventional Cabinet. I’m an unconventional pick for secretary of state.”
But Tillerson would not answer repeated questions as to whether he called Trump, as has been reported, “a moron” after a tense meeting at the Pentagon in July during which the national security team stressed to a skeptical president the need for a robust American presence around the globe.
First, Tillerson parried: “I’m not going to deal with that kind of petty stuff.”
Then he stonewalled: “As I said, Jake, I’m not playing.”
Then he side-stepped: “I’m not making a game out of it.”
And then he danced around it: “I’m not dignifying the question with an answer, Jake.”
The firestorm around the “moron” comment, which was first reported by NBC, prompted Tillerson to hold a remarkable press conference at the State Department earlier this month during which he pledged fealty to Trump but did not deny using the word. A State Department spokeswoman later denied that Tillerson said it.