Carlos Bastarache: rex-tillerson-curl-up-in-a-ball-jpg.jpeg

Thursday, 26 October 2017

rex-tillerson-curl-up-in-a-ball-jpg.jpeg

Sec. of State Tillerson stops at statue while touring parks around Geneva: “Some days I feel like I need to do that. Curl up in a ball.” pic.twitter.com/SDI6FVuMca

— ABC News (@ABC) October 26, 2017

While White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders thinks reporters need to “get a sense of humor” when it comes to the myriad of things Donald Trump says, does this caution apply to the president’s cabinet members as well? After all, as State Secretary Rex Tillerson told a bunch of reporters accompanying his detail in Geneva, Switzerland, “some days I feel like I need to… curl up in a ball.” The former ExxonMobil CEO turned White House staffer, whose relationship with Trump recently came into question after a slew of negative press, apparently hasn’t been having the time of his life.

Thursday’s comments, however, didn’t have anything immediately to do with Trump. Instead, Tillerson was “admiring a statue of what appeared to be a small group of people embracing one another.” After laughing to himself and several others, he said, “Yeah, some days I feel like I need to do that. Curl up in a ball.” The 65-year-old diplomat and his entourage had a good laugh, though an unidentified woman off-camera did poignantly ask, “What are you talking about?” Based on the video alone, we have no idea, but Tillerson’s public exposure in the past few months may prove insightful nonetheless.

In late August, an Axios report indicated Trump was “increasingly frustrated” with Tillerson because he “just doesn’t get it.” What “it” was was never established at the time, though it did really matter because the real fireworks wouldn’t explode until early October, when NBC News claimed Tillerson had called Trump a “moron” during a late July meeting at the Pentagon. The secretary sort-of denied the charge in a rare press conference, but that didn’t prevent subsequent reports from revealing Trump’s ire (about the media attention, no less). This led to Trump challenging Tillerson to an IQ test, additional reports of Trump’s “unraveling,” and Tillerson having to address Sen. Bob Corker’s (R-Tennessee) claim that Trump had “castrated” him on CNN.

(Via Politico)