In the end, the purpose of the briefing was to address an NBC News report from earlier in the morning asserting that Tillerson both referred to President Trump as a “moron” and came close to resigning from his post this summer.

The announcement that the press conference was coming seemed to suggest something ominous. Reporters were given a 10-minute warning, topic unknown. Would it be something about North Korea? What about plans to walk away from the Iran nuclear deal?

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s very odd news conference Wednesday appeared, if anything, to be a desperate attempt to keep his job.


First he had this to say: “I want to dispel with this notion that I have ever considered leaving.”

As for the other part of the report, did Tillerson really call Trump a “moron” at a meeting inside the Pentagon? “I’m not going to deal with petty stuff like that,” he said.

So, in other words, he did — though State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert later denied that had occurred.

This could be a real problem for Tillerson if he wants to remain America’s top diplomat.

His relationship with the Trump White House has been strained for a long time. Tillerson has complained that the White House has been slow to fill key State Department positions and when they did, he had little input.

Then there are the numerous times where Tillerson has said one thing in regards to American foreign policy only to have Trump contradict him. The most recent — and most high-profile case — came over the weekend when Trump tweeted that Tillerson was wrong to continue to negotiate with North Korea over a nuclear war showdown.

“I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man,” the president tweeted. “Save your energy Rex, we’ll do what has to be done!”


There is a pattern of this kind of derision, and it’s a problem. In his role, Tillerson is supposed to be speaking for the president when he negotiates with foreign governments. But Trump has made that hard. When Tillerson tried to calm tensions between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the president fanned flames of division between the countries. Tillerson has also been out of step with Trump on Russia, the Paris climate agreement, and the Iran nuclear deal.

Some might ask why Tillerson would even want to continue working with a president who undercuts him — not to mention the moron comment. But, ultimately, Trump might be the one who takes action.

This situation has a similar dynamic to the one between President Obama and General Stanley McChrystal, who was the lead commander in the war in Afghanistan. Obama long claimed he fired McChrystal in order to pursue a different strategy. But the fact remains that he was fired in the wake of a Rolling Stone article that quoted McChrystal mocking Vice President Joe Biden and making less-than-flattering comments about Obama as commander in chief.

Even under Obama, this type of comment was not allowed to stand. Under Trump, who often lashes out at perceived slights, it’s hard to see how a “moron” comment would not have repercussions. Tillerson might realize this, too.

After all, when Attorney General Jeff Sessions and former Health and Human Services secretary Tom Price faced Trump’s heat, they never held hastily arranged press conferences to say they weren’t resigning. Translation: They never tried this sort of Hail Mary pass to save their jobs.


It is also telling that Tillerson said he and the president never spoke Wednesday before the press conference. Apparently, he felt the only way to reach the president — and profess his loyalty — was by going on television.

The next move might be up to Trump.

James Pindell can be reached at james.pindell@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @jamespindell or subscribe to his Ground Game newsletter on politics: http://pages.email.bostonglobe.com/GroundGameSignUp.