Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” with Chuck Todd Sunday, where he explained his relationship with President Donald Trump and how he viewed the role of Secretary of State.
“Did the firing of FBI Director Comey shake your concern about whether how much independence the president will give you?” Todd asked Tillerson in a clip that did not air on television, but was included on NBC’s website as part of the complete interview.
“Not at all Chuck, I have a great relationship with the president,” Tillerson responded. “I understand what his objectives are — when I’m not clear on what his objectives are, we talk about it.”
“But I am devoted to helping the president achieve his objectives, helping him be successful, and I understand I have to earn his confidence everyday with how I go about with those affairs and with how I go about conducting State Department’s activities consistent with the direction that he wants to take the country,” he continued.
“What’s the line between service to the president and service to country, for you?” Todd asked Tillerson as a follow-up.
“Well I will never compromise my own values, Chuck, and so that’s my only line. And my values are those of the country,” Tillerson asserted.
During the wide-ranging interview, Tillerson expressed his goal to improve relationships between the United State and Russia, while acknowledging Russian interference with the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election.
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