Support NeoGAF

[chadskin]

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was on the verge of resigning this past summer amid mounting policy disputes and clashes with the White House, according to multiple senior administration officials who were aware of the situation at the time.

The tensions came to a head around the time President Donald Trump delivered a politicized speech in late July to the Boy Scouts of America, an organization Tillerson once led, the officials said.

Just days earlier, Tillerson had openly disparaged the president, referring to him as a “moron,” after a July 20 meeting at the Pentagon with members of Trump’s national security team and Cabinet officials, according to three officials familiar with the incident.

While it's unclear if he was aware of the incident, Vice President Mike Pence counseled Tillerson, who is fourth in line to the presidency, on ways to ease tensions with Trump, and other top administration officials urged him to remain in the job at least until the end of the year, officials said.

Pence has since spoken to Tillerson about being respectful of the president in meetings and in public, urging that any disagreements be sorted out privately, a White House official said. The official said progress has since been made.

Yet the disputes have not abated. This weekend, tensions spilled out into the open once again when the president seemed to publicly chide Tillerson on his handling of the crisis with North Korea.

NBC News spoke with a dozen current and former senior administration officials for this article, as well as others who are close to the president.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/wh...ury-trump-required-intervention-pence-n806451

 

[Dr. Benton Quest]

His cabinet is just in a never ending game of manipulation. Like jingling your keys in front of a baby.

 

[jiiikoo]

.

 

[Curious Puppy]

Whoops

 

[Ac30]

Tweetstorm when

 

[7he Talon]

Is Pence the Trump whisper?

 

[shnurgleton]

 

[theignoramus]

In August, Trump was furious with Tillerson over his response to a question about the president's handling of the racially charged and deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, administration officials said. Trump had said publicly that white nationalists and neo-Nazi sympathizers shared blame for violence with those who came out to protest them.

”The president speaks for himself," Tillerson said at the time, when asked on ”Fox News Sunday" about Trump's comments.


The president, according to Hammond, told Tillerson he was upset with his comments when he saw them the first time. But, Hammond said Trump told Tillerson, after watching the interview a second and third time, the president understood that Tillerson was trying to say Trump is the best person to convey what his values are.

Still, the message was clear that Trump wanted Tillerson to defend him more, Hammond said.

The frustrations run both ways. Tillerson stunned a handful of senior administration officials when he called the president a ”moron" after a tense two-hour long meeting in a secure room at the Pentagon called "The Tank," according to three officials who were present or briefed on the incident. The July 20 meeting came a day after a meeting in the White House Situation Room on Afghanistan policy where Trump rattled his national security advisers by suggesting he might fire the top U.S. commander of the war and comparing the decision-making process on troop levels to the renovation of a high-end New York restaurant, according to participants in the meeting.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/tillerson-s-fury-trump-required-intervention-pence-n806451

The closed door scenes behind this administration must be sheer lunacy and madness.

 

[Fatalah]

This White House runs like a well oiled machine, and Tilly knows oil.

 

[Slime]

I never thought the Friend of Putin oil guy would be one of the only people in this administration with anything resembling a spine, but here we are.

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

So, what changed tillerson? Outside of your boss adding choice adjectives to the moron moniker for additional emphasis?

 

[Dreams-Visions]

But you still there, tho?

SwaggyP.gif

 

[andthebeatgoeson]

I never thought the Friend of Putin oil guy would be one of the only people in this administration with anything resembling a spine, but here we are.

He hasn't resigned. There is no spine. Just seen as a useful puppet.

Tillerson is learning on the job and i suspect plenty of people could say the same about him.

 

[Jyester]

I was wondering this morning how close Tillerson is to snapping and telling Trump to his face to fuck off. He's gotta be at his limit.

 

[Formless]

So, what changed tillerson? Outside of your boss adding choice adjectives to the moron moniker for additional emphasis?

He probably learned a lot about the role/world affairs after he got on.

 

[cameron]

Moran.

Pence has since spoken to Tillerson about being respectful of the president in meetings and in public, urging that any disagreements be sorted out privately, a White House official said. The official said progress has since been made.

Pence, remember when Donald made you fetch an executive order that he forgot to sign? Fetch. Like a dog.

 

[Majine]

Moran.


Pence, remember when Donald made you fetch an executive order that he forgot to sign? Fetch. Like a dog.

Pence is still there fishing for the presidency, I’d imagine.

 

[excelsiorlef]

I never thought the Friend of Putin oil guy would be one of the only people in this administration with anything resembling a spine, but here we are.

What spine?

This is more like showing he has a single vertebrae at best... long way to go till he gets a whole spine.

 

[Culex]

So, what changed tillerson? Outside of your boss adding choice adjectives to the moron moniker for additional emphasis?

He is either trying to line up his next leadership role outside the administration or actually likes the job and is trying to run interference around Trump.

 

[Meadows]

Hopefully Tillerson stays on, him being in his position, as well as Hayley, McMaster and Mathis, reduces the chances of Trump doing stupid shit in regards to NK.

 

[krazen]

He is either trying to line up his next leadership role outside the administration or actually likes the job and is trying to run interference around Trump.

Also he’s probably as scared shitless as the rest of us and fears how worse ir would get if he leaves.

 

[BlueWord]

Tillerson would be a great fit in like a Bush-league Republican presidency; he's well-connected with the donor class and values stability so far as it continues to benefit big business. Unfortunately for him, he signed on with the toddler-in-chief.

You have to wonder what his mindset is at this point. A lot of the adults in the room seem to be staying onboard just so Trump doesn't appoint someone more sympathetic to his behavior.

 

[Shadybiz]

Well...I certainly don't disagree with him.

 

[Angelus Errare]

So, what changed tillerson? Outside of your boss adding choice adjectives to the moron moniker for additional emphasis?

Probably thought it was an unimportant job that anyone could do, got in there learned just how much work in a "holy fuck Hillary did this!?" moment, and realized what the job entails and how vital it is, and now respects both his position and politics a lot more and takes it very seriously.

 

[Chittagong]

 

[Pai Pai Master]

Tillerson is fucked as soon as Trump hear about that moron bit on Fox News lol

 

[Keasar]

Is Pence the Trump whisper?

 

[SpaceCadetKeon]

Ohhh I can't wait to see Trumpy fly off the handle on Twitter over this.

 

[CrunchyB]

I never thought the Friend of Putin oil guy would be one of the only people in this administration with anything resembling a spine, but here we are.

He was a successful CEO of ExxonMobile, he may be a lot of things, but he's not a total buffoon.

 

[Tamanon]

Tillerson is fucked as soon as Trump hear about that moron bit on Fox News lol

Yeah. You can do everything but insult him.

 

[Horns]

He was a successful CEO of ExxonMobile, he may be a lot of things, but he's not a total buffoon.

Let's not give anyone who calls themselves a "business man" too much credit. Trump has ruined that label.

 

[Thaedolus]

I think Mattis, Kelly, Tillerson, and McMaster are the only people keeping this country from going to nuclear war right now.

 

[acheron_xl]

Yeah, Tillerson is a pussy just like Cohn. Don’t leak that you were considering resigning, just fucking quit already.

 

[Alligatorjandro]

That’s nice. Until someone resigned calls him out publicly it doesn’t matter.

 

[Bashtee]

I think Mattis, Kelly, Tillerson, and McMaster are the only people keeping this country from going to nuclear war right now.

A lot of people would now go like "stop it, it's never going to happen" and so on, but I actually think you might be right.

 

[acheron_xl]

A lot of people would now go like "stop it, it's never going to happen" and so on, but I actually think you might be right.

I don’t think it’s going to happen, but not because someone will talk Trump down. I think if he ever gives the order to launch, the people responsible for executing the order will refuse to do so.

 

[Jakoo]

Yeah, Tillerson is a pussy just like Cohn. Don't leak that you were considering resigning, just fucking quit already.

That "pussy" is pushing for diplomatic solutions with North Korea while his boss is publicially embarrassing him and threatening nuclear war.

I'd rather have the devil you know in Tillerson then have a Secretary of State that will parrot Trumps egomaniacal fantasy of glassing an entire country.

 

[Takamura-San]

Completely meaningless, just scrape off some dignity from the bottom of your toilet and quit.

 

[ahoyhoy]

Is Pence the Trump whisper?

Putting Pence in the WH was a master stroke by the GOP. He's probably the only reason those outside of Trump's inner circle are willing to stick around.

Imagine if Trump got to pick his VP. Probably would have been The Mooch or someone equally incompetent.

 

[Shadybiz]

Putting Pence in the WH was a master stroke by the GOP. He's probably the only reason those outside of Trump's inner circle are willing to stick around.

Imagine if Trump got to pick his VP. Probably would have been The Mooch or someone equally incompetent.

Come on, now.....it would have been Ivanka.

 

[Steel]

Let's not give anyone who calls themselves a "business man" too much credit. Trump has ruined that label.

Trump didn't get where he was on merit, Tillerson did. It doesn't mean Tillerson is a good fit for his current job, he's not, but he's not Trump-level.

 

[Mikef2000]

Yeah, Tillerson is a pussy just like Cohn. Don’t leak that you were considering resigning, just fucking quit already.

Anyone that is sane and vital to national security (I mean Mattis, McMaster, Tillerson), should stay on with the sinking ship just to avert a bigger disaster. Everybody else that has any sense of dignity and morality, should resign in protest. Cohn would have resigned if he had any of those qualities, but he hasn't because he is begging for the Fed Chair position.

 

[JustenP88]

Can't wrap my head around all the people with the "the generals the wannabe authoritarian surrounded himself with are the only thing keeping us out of war" take. Freaking bizarre.

 

[BoogieWoogie]

Putting Pence in the WH was a master stroke by the GOP. He's probably the only reason those outside of Trump's inner circle are willing to stick around.

Imagine if Trump got to pick his VP. Probably would have been The Mooch or someone equally incompetent.

I'm pretty sure it was confirmed he was thinking of Flynn for it, which sure would have been something.

 

[Game-Biz]

I think Mattis, Kelly, Tillerson, and McMaster are the only people keeping this country from going to nuclear war right now.

Yep. These guys better stay in the WH as long as they fucking can while Trump is president, no matter how miserable it is for them.

 

[Silent Chief]

Pence is still there fishing for the presidency, I’d imagine.

He's dangling on the edge.

 

[BronsonLee]

WELP he's probably gone

 

[ahoyhoy]

Anyone that is sane and vital to national security (I mean Mattis, McMaster, Tillerson), should stay on with the sinking ship just to avert a bigger disaster. Everybody else that has any sense of dignity and morality, should resign in protest. Cohn would have resigned if he had any of those qualities, but he hasn't because he is begging for the Fed Chair position.

Indeed. Until we have a way to remove Trump I want as many competent, not wholly evil people in office. Resigning or publicly shit talking Trump will not accomplish anything and might bring their eventual replacements that will likely be much worse at their jobs.

Hopefully some or all of these men have ways to backchannel info and requests to lawmakers and investigators to help bring this thing to a head.

 

[theechrisfox]

So he works for a fucking moron, but all that sweet Russian caviar makes it worth it.

 

[rokkerkory]

Just quit then