As Rex Tillerson gave his first public address after being fired as Secretary of State, a number of reporters and pundits on Twitter took note of his shaky voice and defeated demeanor — raising questions about the outgoing diplomat’s feelings about his ouster.
Tillerson gave his exit speech from the State Department, where he reflected on his work, outlined his hopes for the department’s future, and talked about the importance of international diplomacy. Interestingly, Tillerson did not seem to give any salutations to President Donald Trump, remarking instead that the president only called him on Tuesday morning – which was hours after he was fired via tweet.
Tillerson seemed to stammer through the speech at certain points, and some online observers thought he might’ve been on the verge of some sort of emotional breakdown.
Tillersons’s voice is awfully shaky.
— Eli Stokols (@EliStokols) March 13, 2018
Tillerson sounds like he’s on his treadmill. At level 11.
— Rob Lowe (@RobLowe) March 13, 2018
Doesn’t look like he is taking this well.
— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) March 13, 2018
did they have to schedule this immediately after Tillerson ran a 10K
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) March 13, 2018
Is it just me or does #Tillerson‘s voice seem to be breaking?
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) March 13, 2018
Emotional #RexTillerson says Trump called him shortly after noon & he will turn over duties to Dep Sec Sullivan at end of day. Formal end of tenure is March 31. Says wants team to continue promoting his values of accountability and respect for others. Doesn’t say Trumps values
— Andrea Mitchell (@mitchellreports) March 13, 2018
Tillerson sounds genuinely upset.
— Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) March 13, 2018
tillerson sounds like he’s either about to cry or about to scream or about to have a heart attack
— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) March 13, 2018
i’m really not sure if i can handle watching rex tillerson cry on live tv
— Ellie Shechet (@ellieshechet) March 13, 2018
This statement from Tillerson is painful. He seems emotional and exhausted
— Michael Cohen (@speechboy71) March 13, 2018
Tillerson’s voice is wavering, he is emotional.
— Michelle Kosinski (@MichLKosinski) March 13, 2018
Tillerson says he’ll leave on March 31. His voice is wavering during this speech, sounds very emotional.
— Olivia Messer 💀 (@OliviaMesser) March 13, 2018
[Image via screengrab]
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