The most revealing moment in Rex Tillerson’s hastily convened press conference Wednesday came when he was asked about the most explosive element of the NBC News story published Wednesday morning: that in July Donald Trump’s secretary of State had called the president of the United States a “moron.” Given the most obvious opportunity to deny the detail, Tillerson instead said this:
“I’m just—I’m not going to deal with petty stuff like that. I mean, this is what I don’t understand about Washington. Again, I’m not from this place, but the places I come from, we don’t deal with that kind of petty nonsense. And it is intended to do nothing but divide people. And I’m just not going to be part of this effort to divide this administration.”
Tillerson is a simple oil executive from Texas, so he clearly doesn’t understand one Washington mistake: the non-confirmation confirmation. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert cleaned it up hours later with straightforward denial. “He did not say that,” she said at her Wednesday afternoon briefing.
But the damage of his press conference, which brought even more light to a story that included claims that Tillerson had been “on the verge of resigning” back in July (something he did deny Wednesday morning) and the Vice President Mike Pence tried to ease tensions between Tillerson and Trump, was done. The ill feelings are out in the open and threaten to undermine Trump’s authority and/or Tillerson’s job.
One remaining question: Who first tipped off NBC about Tillerson’s frustrations? The July 20 meeting at the Pentagon where he supposedly made his “moron” comment was attended by national security principals, cabinet members, and other administration officials. Among those who attended who might have a grievance against Tillerson? Then-chief strategist Steve Bannon.
Mark It Down—“At some point perhaps that will come. That’s not today.” —Donald Trump, on whether he is open to a discussion of gun control in the wake of the Las Vegas shooting, October 4, 2017.
President Trump visited Las Vegas on Wednesday to meet with first responders and survivors of the mass shooting Sunday night that killed 59 concertgoers and wounded hundreds more.
“Words cannot describe the bravery that the whole world witnessed on Sunday night,” the president said during a speech at the Las Vegas Police Department Command Center. “A grateful nation thanks you.”
Trump also visited a hospital where many of the more than 500 wounded were being treated, saying his message was “We’re with you 100 percent.”
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president met with 8 families and around 100 doctors, nurses, and EMTs, many of whom had been working for up to 48 hours straight since Sunday night.
“I think they were very happy and grateful to be alive and certainly I think very excited for the president and first lady to come and see them,” Sanders said. “There was a lot of laughter coming out.”
“I said, ‘If you’re ever in Washington, come on over to the Oval Office,’” Trump said of his conversations with survivors. “Believe me, I’ll be there for ‘em.”
Capitol Hill Watch—In the wake of the Las Vegas shooting, there’s a rare possibility for bipartisan gun legislation: top Republicans have indicated they could support a ban on bump stocks, devices that modify a semi-automatic rifle to simulate automatic fire.
“I own a lot of guns, and as a hunter and sportsman, I think that’s our right as Americans, but I don’t understand the use of this bump stock,” Senator John Cornyn of Texas said. “It seems like it’s an obvious area we ought to explore and see if it’s something Congress needs to act on.”
Senators Orrin Hatch, Lindsey Graham, and Marco Rubio also indicated they could support such a ban.
Months after investigators began their probe into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russians during the 2016 election, the administration isn’t out of the woods yet.
Richard Burr and Mark Warner, co-chairs of the Senate Intelligence Committee, gave a report of their investigation’s progress in a press conference Wednesday. Burr, the Republican, said “the issue of collusion is still open.”
But the senators did not indicate they had discovered “any hint of collusion” as their committee interviewed more than 100 people and sifted through more than 100,000 pages of related documents, a process which they cautioned is ongoing.
“If somebody has come in and not been truthful with us, we will catch them on that, and they will come back,” Burr said.
The senators did suggest that they had reached conclusions on some specific controversies in the scandal, such as the decision to soften language supporting Ukraine in the GOP’s party platform, which was criticized by some as a sop to Russia.
“Campaign staff was attempting to implement what they believed to be guidance to be a strong ally on Ukraine, but also leave the door open for better relations with Russia,” Burr said. “I’m giving you the feedback we got from the individuals who were in the room making the decisions.”
Read more on their findings from my colleague Jenna Lifhits.
On Trump’s Schedule—Arkansas senator Tom Cotton will meet with President Trump in the Oval Office Thursday morning, according to the White House. Cotton has been an unofficial adviser of sorts for the president on the issue of the Iran nuclear deal. On Tuesday at the Council on Foreign Relations, he delivered an address on his views for the future of the country’s Iran policy.
Cotton’s speech was predicated on the educated hope that President Trump will decertify the Iran nuclear deal before the upcoming October 15 deadline. “Congress and the president, working together, should lay out how the deal must change and, if it doesn’t, the consequences Iran will face,” Cotton said. Read the whole speech here.
Bern Your Enthusiasm—It turns out Bernie Sanders and his comedian doppelganger Larry David are actually distant cousins. Which reminds me of my all-time favorite mash-up from the 2016 election—or maybe ever.
Song of the Day—“Wah-Wah” by George Harrison.
