With most of Trump’s administration under scrutiny these days, a little stability is a refreshing thing. While there are still plenty of question about Rex Tillerson, Trump’s pick for Secretary of State, he does seem to be doing the job without too much trouble. Sure, he’s talking pre-emptive strikes on North Korea and giving NATO the cold shoulder, but he’s also far down the list of Trump’s controversial administration at the moment.
But, according to a new interview with Independent Journal Review — the only media entity to accompany the State Department to Asia — Tillerson apparently didn’t want the job and had to have a slight push out the door:
“I didn’t want this job. I didn’t seek this job.” He paused to let that sink in.
A beat or two passed before an aide piped up to ask him why he said yes.
“My wife told me I’m supposed to do this.”
After watching the contortions of my face as I tried to figure out what to say next, he humbly explained that he had never met the president before the election. As president-elect, Trump wanted to have a conversation with Tillerson “about the world” given what he gleaned from the complex global issues he dealt with as CEO of Exxon Mobil.
“When he asked me at the end of that conversation to be secretary of state, I was stunned.”
Tillerson’s wife also told him that “God’s not through with you,” which seems to indicate that God also had a lot to do with his role as CEO of ExxonMobil. No matter, the pep talk worked and now Tillerson feels that he was “supposed to do this” and scuttled his original plans for his post-Exxon life:
“I was supposed to retire in March, this month. I was going to go to the ranch to be with my grandkids.”
The whole thing is a strange and funny tidbit to admit. And while Rex Tillerson will admit that he didn’t want the job, I have a feeling that Wayne Tracker was ripe and ready for the position.