During an interview that aired on Thursday evening’s edition of Laura Ingraham’s new Fox News show, President Trump offered a strikingly despotic rationale for why he’s not concerned about positions remaining unfilled at the State Department while the United States deals with a number of international crises.

“Lemme tell you, the one that matters is me,” Trump said. “I am the only one that matters. Because when it comes to it, that’s what the policy is going to be. You’ve seen that, you’ve seen it strongly.”

Trump’s comments are ill at ease with what Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in late August, on the heels of Trump’s public defense of white supremacists.


During that interview, Tillerson sought to draw a line between the president and “the American government,” and said, “The president speaks for himself, Chris.”

Trump’s relationship with Tillerson has been on uneasy footing since.

Last month, Trump publicly undermined any diplomatic efforts Tillerson is making to resolve the North Korea crisis without military hostilities.

I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man… — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 1, 2017

Days after he posted that tweet, NBC reported that Tillerson called Trump a “moron.” Tillerson didn’t deny the report, but Trump called it “fake news.”

During his interview with Ingraham, Trump suggested he may not keep Tillerson around for a full term.

“We’ll see. I don’t know who’s going to be [here for the] duration,” Trump said.