Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was on the verge of quitting in July, right around when President Trump delivered his infamously political speech to the Boy Scouts of America, even calling the president a ‘moron,’ according to NBC News.
Tillerson, who had previously served as president of the Boy Scouts, wasn’t there as Trump heralded his own Electoral College win and talked up the ‘record’ crowd he drew at the National Scout Jamboree.
Several days earlier, after a July 20 Pentagon national security meeting, Tillerson referred to the president as a ‘moron.’
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called President Donald Trump a ‘moron’ last summer according to a report
The Pentagon incident came a day after a meeting in the White House Situation Room where Trump rattled his national security team by suggesting he might fire the top US commander in Afghanistan, comparing the decision-making process on troop levels to renovating a high-end restaurant in New York, participants in the meeting said.
Tillerson’s utterance of ‘moron’ stunned the handful of high-level administration officials who witnessed the secretary of state’s outburst.
Relations got so frayed that Vice President Mike Pence, who regularly hails Trump in public remarks, counseled Tillerson on ways to ease the tensions, according to NBC’s reporting.
The straight-laced Pence even spoke to Tillerson about being respectful to the president in public and during meetings, suggesting any differences should be worked out privately.
Tillerson was attending his son’s wedding in July during the the president’s Boy Scouts speech and considered not returning to Washington, NBC News learned.
His absence drew the attention of the press as word of tensions with the president leaked.
Tensions reached the point where Vice President Mike Pence counseled Tillerson on how to ease the tensions
US President Donald Trump (R) speaks to the press with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (L) on August 11, 2017, at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey
State Department spokesman Heather Nauert said Tillerson was ‘just taking a little time off.’
When Tillerson returned, Pence arranged a ‘pep talk’ and said Tillerson had to figure out how to move forward within Trump’s ‘policy framework,’ according to the story.
Gen. John Kelly, now the White House chief of staff, and Defense Secretary James Mattis have been Tillerson’s strongest allies in Trumpland and ‘they did beg him to stay,’ a senior administration official told NBC. ‘They just wanted stability.’
Trump has been plagued by a number of high-profile departures, including two communications directors, his first Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, his Press Secretary Sean Spicer, his National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, his Chief Strategist Steve Bannon and, most recently, his Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, who resigned over taking pricey private flights to do government business.
There are signs of lingering tension. Trump undercut his top diplomat with tweets over the weekend.
‘I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man,’ Trump tweeted, using the phrase he uses for North Korea’s Kim Jon-un.
‘Save your energy Rex, we’ll do what has to be done!’ Trump wrote.
Tillerson was visiting Beijing at the time and had confirmed to reporters that the US had been in contact with North Korea.
He also urged the calming of tensions between the two countries.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Monday that the president still has confidence in his secretary of state.
State spokesman R.C. Hammond said Tillerson did not consider quitting the administration in July and denied he called the president a ‘moron.’
The report also says Trump was furious with Tillerson after he declined to back up the president for his comments about Charlottesville where he put blame on both sides of the violence.
‘The president speaks for himself,’ Tillerson said when asked to comment.