As the House Republicans fulfill Speaker Ryan’s Ayn Randian nightmare of overhauling the tax code to favor the wealthy, it might be a time to focus on a less serious topic for a moment. Enter Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, and a transcript of his brief and peculiar conversation with the media as French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian looked on. The transcript is brief and, well, incredibly awkward.
Minister @JY_LeDrian and #secretaryofstate #RexTillerson just met for a working luncheon at @StateDept
They discussed Joint anti-terrorism effort, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Jerusalem, Libya, Sahel and the North Korea nuclear threat
@francediplo_EN @WHNSC
#oldestallies #FranceUSA pic.twitter.com/qMURExMIz7— French Embassy U.S. (@franceintheus) December 18, 2017
Tillerson has been notoriously awkward when it comes to speaking with the press, and perhaps this exchange exemplifies this better than any other. There are many speculations and questions about Tillerson and if he will continue to be Secretary of State after reports surfaced that he had called Trump a “f*cking moron” over his stance on the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The resulting tension never seems to have fully subsided. Now it appears reporters are still asking him if he has plans to resign.
Tillerson met with a French official today for a working lunch. Jean-Yves Le Drian is currently the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs.
The transcript was provided by Ryan Struyk, of CNN Politics. See below:
this is literally my favorite transcript ever pic.twitter.com/Q2QSI11U5h
— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) December 18, 2017
Speaker: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
Tillerson: It’s my pleasure to welcome Foreign Minister Le Drian from France to the State Department for a working lunch. We’ve had a number of meetings already this year, so I look forward to continuing that discussion. Welcome.
Question: Bonjour, Monsieur Secretary. Secretary Tillerson, have you already submitted a letter of resignation with an effective date in January?
Tillerson: That’s ridiculous.
Question: Thank you.
Tillerson: It’s a ridiculous question.
Question: Thanks.
END
Tillerson then seems to have promptly cut the press conference short and walked out of the room. It is almost a parody that one would expect on the British comedy show, Monty Python, not an actual account of our government today.
A video of the meeting reveals the full glory of the awkward moment:
Here is the video. pic.twitter.com/t7GbKZqTkg
— Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) December 18, 2017
After that exchange, one wonders what the French official thought of Tillerson, and he has already been highly critical of Trump.
The Foreign Minister gave a “blunt critique” of Trump’s foreign policy on Monday, saying “it smacks of isolationism and retreat.” Ouch. You have to hand it to him for speaking the truth.
“This forces President Trump to have a position of retreat on most topics rather than making proposals,” Le Drian said during his first time in Washington as France’s top diplomat.
Featured image: Screenshot via Twitter
