Rex Kneels To Kiss Trump’s Ring

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, President Donald Trump, and White House chief of staff John Kelly listen as Trump is introduced during a luncheon with African leaders at the Palace Hotel during the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, President Donald Trump, and White House chief of staff John Kelly listen as Trump is introduced during a luncheon with African leaders at the Palace Hotel during the United Nations G... Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, President Donald Trump, and White House chief of staff John Kelly listen as Trump is introduced during a luncheon with African leaders at the Palace Hotel during the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) MORE LESS
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A remarkable press conference by Rex Tillerson just now to, how else can you say it?, save his job. He didn’t deny calling the President a “moron” over the summer, as NBC reported this morning, but he didn’t address it directly, dismissing it as part of DC’s tendency toward the “petty” and divisive.

It was cringe-inducing. The only real audience was the President. Will the secretary of state’s personal humiliation be enough to satisfy Trump? It’s the kind of question you expect to ask in a tinpot dictatorship. The other piece of “analysis” here also strains belief: Trump just canned his HHS secretary last week … can he shove out his top diplomat so soon?

What can you even say? The whole tableau this morning is the problem with this president. This isn’t about Rex Tillerson.

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