About Rex Tillerson
Rex Tillerson served as U.S. Secretary of State from February 2017 to March 2018. During his tenure, he described the administration's approach to North Korea as a "peaceful pressure campaign," which he said was the same as what President Donald Trump called the "maximum pressure campaign." Tillerson stated that the re-designation of North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism in November 2017 was a step to hold the country accountable for actions including assassinations and the use of banned chemical weapons. He said the sanctions were having an effect, citing fuel shortages and reduced revenues, and expressed hope that the pressure would lead Kim Jong Un to reverse the nuclear weapons program.
Tillerson was fired by President Trump on March 13, 2018, and announced he would delegate his responsibilities to Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan to ensure a smooth transition. In his farewell address to State Department staff, he said the department had "exceeded the expectations of almost everyone" with the North Korea pressure campaign and noted accomplishments including ceasefires in Syria and the adoption of a South Asia strategy. He also said Russia must "assess carefully" its actions, warning that continuing on its current trajectory could lead to "greater isolation." In his final remarks, Tillerson told staff that Washington "can be a very mean-spirited town" but that "you don't have to choose to participate in that."
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Rex Tillerson's recent appearances.
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✨ AI-enhanced transcript with speaker attribution
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Narrator0:00
We take you now to Washington DC where outgoing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson gave his farewell address just moments ago, flexing foreign affairs relationships and in other instances serious national security threats.
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Rex Tillerson0:17
In these times, your continued diligence and devotion to the State Department's mission has never been more necessary. As you go about your duties, each of you carrying out your individual responsibilities as well as your collective duty, it is my hope that you will be guided by and test your actions each day against the values that we have spoken about over this past year.
First, to value the safety and security of yourselves, your loved ones, and your colleagues. Second, to maintain a commitment to accountability by first holding yourselves accountable so that you're able to hold others accountable, and that the positive environment of accountability is underpinned by honesty and integrity in all that you do.
Never lose sight of your most valuable asset, the most valuable asset you possess: your personal integrity. Not one of you was gifted it; you were born with it. It belongs to you. It always has and will belong to you and you alone. Only you can relinquish it or allow it to be compromised. Once you've done so, it is very, very hard to regain it. So guard it as the most precious thing you possess.
And finally, I hope you will continue to treat each other with respect, regardless of the job title, the station in life, or your role. Everyone is important to the State Department. We're all just human beings trying to do our part.
In closing, I'd like to ask that each of you undertake to ensure one act of kindness each day towards another person. This can be a very mean-spirited town, but you don't have to choose to participate in that. Each of us get to choose the person we want to be and the way we want to be treated and the way we will treat others. God bless you all, your loved ones. God bless America.
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Narrator3:07
Rex Tillerson saying goodbye to the State Department on his last day, and a little bit of a jab at the president there. The Secretary of State saying that each of you should undergo one act of kindness a day. 'This can be a very mean-spirited town, but you don't have to choose to participate in that.' Those last two lines got a pretty big round of applause from the folks at the State Department. His potential future successor, the man who was supposed to replace him, Mike Pompeo, the current CIA director, will have confirmation hearings set for April.
