Secretary of State Rex Tillerson threatened to resign his post in July following President Trump’s speech to the Boy Scouts of America, according to a report Wednesday.
Tillerson, who served as national president of the Boy Scouts from 2010 to 2012, was upset about Trump’s politicized comments to the group of children.
The incident came as the former Exxon Mobil CEO was already considering resigning from his post as top diplomat due to clashes with senior White House officials and Trump. He was at his son’s wedding in Texas when Trump talked politics with Boy Scouts, and threatened not to return.
Vice President Mike Pence was called in to intervene in late July to counsel Tillerson and gave him tips about working with the billionaire businessman, NBC reported.
Pence gave Tillerson a “pep talk” and urged Tillerson to sort out differences with Trump in private. It’s unknown whether Pence knew that Tillerson had called Trump a “moron” following a July 20 meeting at the Pentagon with some of Trump’s national security team and Cabinet officials.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and now-White House chief of staff John Kelly also coached Tillerson through the July incidents and encouraged him to stick with his job despite the frustrations.
The two men “did beg him to stay” because “they just wanted stability,” according to the report.
Tillerson and Trump have continued to clash over foreign policy. Trump tweeted over the weekend that Tillerson had a private, direct channel to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, but criticized Tillerson and said that approach would not bring about progress.
