Trump’s Cabinet struggles with whether to defend their boss

Some seek their distance, delicately taking issue with President Donald Trump’s most controversial remarks. Others decide it’s safer to stand by him. Most would rather say nothing at all. Under intense pressure, members of Trump’s Cabinet are struggling to walk the line between rebuking their notoriously thin-skinned boss and defending comments that struck even many loyal Republicans as offensive. Though the friction has been building for months, Trump’s polarizing response to white nationalism in Charlottesville was a catalyst, with fallout that has continued to dog his administration more than two weeks later. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was the latest administration member forced to take a position on Trump’s handling of Charlottesville, in which he described people at a neo-Nazi rally as “very fine people.” The unenviable list also includes Trump’s treasury secretary, chief of the National Economic Council and defense secretary. “They’re getting pressure from friends, colleagues, Capitol Hill, journalists,” said Matt Mackowiak, a Republican political strategist. “I think we’re at a point where Republicans are feeling more freedom and perhaps responsibility to speak out when Trump crosses the line. But there’s no handbook for this.” Tillerson, questioned in a TV interview, tried to avoid a direct response. He pivoted and emphasized the values of equality that he said he’s been pushing at the State Department. But asked directly whether Trump represented those values, Tillerson demurred. “The president speaks for himself, Chris,” he told “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace. “I’ve spoken. I’ve made my own comments as to our values, as well, in a speech I gave.” Tillerson’s nonanswer spread virally on social media, coming just as a growing number of Republicans have deemed the Charlottesville controversy the last straw. By the next morning, there were dramatic reports suggesting Tillerson’s job was on the line — some speculating he was on thin ice with Trump, others suggesting Tillerson was ready to quit. But Tillerson had actually been trying to do the opposite: avoid causing a stir one way or another, according to individuals familiar with his preparations for the interview. After all, the adage that the president’s comments or tweets “speak for themselves” has been regularly deployed across Trump’s administration, including from the White House press secretary, as a standard dodge when faced with comments that can’t be easily defended. “The secretary hasn’t been looking to relitigate anything that’s been going on,” said R.C. Hammond, a senior Tillerson adviser. And despite murmurings from Trump associates that the president was irked by the exchange, the White House defended Tillerson late Monday, calling him “a trusted and highly valued member” of Trump’s team. “Rumors to the contrary are absolutely false,” said Michael Anton, the White House National Security Council spokesman. “We look forward to the secretary continuing to make vital contributions to the Trump administration and to American foreign policy long into the future.”