The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Staff, Wire Reports
Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 06:31 PM
Secretary Of State Rex Tillerson Blasts NBC News Report Of Rift With Him And President As "Fake News"
Secretary of State Rex
Tillerson on Wednesday blasted an NBC News report detailing his supposed
rift with President Trump, affirming his “commitment” to the
administration and denying that he ever considered resigning.
The NBC News report had said Tillerson considered resigning over the
summer amid disagreements with the White House.
“There’s never been a consideration in my mind,” Tillerson told
reporters, in a previously unscheduled statement.
The report had said Tillerson even called Trump a “moron” this summer
after a meeting at the Pentagon with members of Trump’s national
security team and Cabinet officials. Vice President Pence reportedly got
involved at the time to discuss ways to ease tensions.
Tillerson said Wednesday he would not address “petty” stuff, but said of
the president, “He loves this country. He puts Americans and America
first. He’s smart.”
Trump, en route to Las Vegas to meet with survivors of Sunday’s mass
shooting, also hit back Wednesday at the report.
“NBC news is #FakeNews and more dishonest than even CNN. They are a
disgrace to good reporting. No wonder their news ratings are way down!”
Trump tweeted.
Follow
Donald J. Trump ✔@realDonaldTrump
NBC news is #FakeNews and more dishonest than even CNN. They are a
disgrace to good reporting. No wonder their news ratings are way down!
In his remarks, Tillerson denied that Pence ever had to get involved to
convince him to stay.
“My commitment to the success of our president and our country is as
strong as it was the day I accepted his offer to serve as secretary of
state. … There is much to be done, and we’re just getting started,"
Tillerson said. “The vice president has never had to persuade me to
remain as secretary of state because I have never considered leaving
this post.”
A source with knowledge of the situation told Fox News that the
conversations between Pence and Tillerson were more focused on getting
the secretary of state back on the same page as the president,
characterizing their interactions more as “counseling.”
The source told Fox News that Pence and Trump are fully in lockstep, and
that the vice president continuously discusses the expectations of the
president with Cabinet officials to ensure the administration is moving
forward in the same direction.
CRACKS IN THE CABINET? TILLERSON, OTHERS SEEN DISTANCING THEMSELVES FROM
TRUMP
The White House did not respond to Fox News’ request for comment on the
relationship between Tillerson and Trump.
Tillerson’s top State Department spokesman, R.C. Hammond reportedly said
that Tillerson did not consider resigning over the summer and denied
Tillerson ever called the president a “moron.”
Reports of Tillerson having tensions with Trump have been circulating
since this summer, around the time of Trump’s somewhat controversial
speech to Boy Scouts of America in July, an organization once led by
Tillerson.
Tillerson also raised eyebrows in August, following the president’s
response to the violent attacks in Charlottesville, Va. In an appearance
on “Fox News Sunday” in August, host Chris Wallace pointedly asked
Tillerson about the president’s values.
“The president speaks for himself, Chris,” Tillerson curtly replied.
Asked whether he was “separating himself” from the president’s comments,
he answered, “I have spoken.”
The president has largely been mum on his relationship with Tillerson,
and his performance as secretary of state. But over the weekend, he
seemed to criticize Tillerson’s approach to North Korea.
“I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is
wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man,” Trump
tweeted on Sunday. “Save your energy Rex, we’ll do what has to be done!”