Tillerson, in Africa, dodges questions on vulgarity and trolling

There’s the shrug or dismissive laugh when he is trolled or overshadowed by Russia or China, rivals the Trump administration has yet to develop a coherent strategy to contain or surmount.

And there’s the signature pause that follows when his aides are asked why he has yet again failed to schedule a meeting during his trip with opposition or rival political leaders — the kind of encounters past secretaries of state routinely undertook to emphasize the importance of pluralism, and to hedge against sudden changes in government.

Tillerson and his subordinates drew on that repertory of responses Thursday as he visited the headquarters of the African Union, a set of soaring buildings constructed by the Chinese — and said to be riddled with Chinese listening devices.

In a news conference with Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairman of the African Union Commission, the men were asked by a reporter from the China Global Television Network about reports that Trump described Africa as filled with “shithole countries,” a remark the reporter said “Africa is still digesting.”

Wearing the tight smile he used on a recent tour of Latin America, where he was asked to respond to similarly insulting remarks from Trump, or in Europe, where his reception was as chilly as the wintry weather, Tillerson said that relations between the United States and Africa remain strong.

“The United States commitment to Africa is quite clear in terms of the importance we place on the relationship,” he said.

For his part, Faki said, “I believe this incident is of the past, and with the visit of Secretary of State Tillerson, and the evidence of the relations between Africa and the United States is personified through his visit.”

To round out the global distancing that friendly nations are doing with the Trump administration, representatives from 11 countries — including Japan, Canada and Australia, close American allies — signed a trade pact in Santiago, Chile, on Thursday that Trump had rejected in his first days in office.

Yet again Tillerson warned Thursday against Chinese investment. But with the Trump administration cutting back assistance programs in Africa just as the Chinese are ramping up investments, he got as prickly a response in Ethiopia to his China-bashing as he had in South America.

China has invested $15 billion in Ethiopia in recent years compared with about $550 million by the United States. Besides the African Union’s headquarters, China has built a light-rail system, a vast ring road and a host of other structures in Addis Ababa, the capital.

“I think Africans are mature enough to engage in partnerships of their own volition,” Faki said.

Tillerson also got trolled by Russian officials.

Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, was in Ethiopia at the same time as Tillerson and even stayed at the same hotel. The Russians insisted on social media that they had asked for a meeting between the two but had been rebuffed.

A taunting post on the Facebook page of the Russian Embassy in Washington said such a meeting “would be a great opportunity to discuss a range of accumulated issues on regional and global agenda not through the press but directly.”

In a news conference, Tillerson dismissed the Russian taunts as “silly,” saying he had met with Lavrov more times than he could remember and that the two knew each other’s phone numbers.

Tillerson’s trip to Africa comes as the chaos in the administration appears to be increasing and his own place in it remains uncertain. Gary Cohn, the president’s chief economic adviser, announced his resignation while Tillerson was in the air. And just after he landed in Ethiopia, Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and top adviser, was in Mexico for meetings with its president and foreign minister — meetings that excluded the U.S. ambassador, Roberta S. Jacobson, who plans to resign in May.

Tillerson could hardly complain about her exclusion — since he has often refused to include ambassadors in his own meetings with top foreign officials. But Kushner’s continued efforts to serve as the administration’s intermediary in crucial foreign relations have undercut Tillerson’s authority.

Tillerson is out of Washington just as South Korean officials fly in to brief their American counterparts about their talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The administration’s pressure campaign against North Korea is one of Tillerson’s signature efforts, something he mentions all the time.

But fence-mending was needed in Africa, where Tillerson is making a five-nation tour. He arrived in Ethiopia just as this country has plunged into political turmoil. A police state with a democratic veneer, Ethiopia is buffeted by violent clashes in diverse ethnic enclaves where activists are demanding political and economic reform. The government recently declared a state of emergency.

After his meetings at the African Union, Tillerson rode by motorcade across town to meet Hailemariam Desalegn, Ethiopia’s prime minister, and Workneh Gebeyehu, the foreign minister.

Desalegn announced weeks ago that he would resign, although he has remained in power while a successor is chosen.

In a news conference with Gebeyehu, Tillerson said that while North Korea had sent “potentially positive signals” in talks with Seoul, Washington and Pyongyang remained “a long ways from negotiations.”

“The first step is to have some kind of talks about talks,” Tillerson said.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Tillerson, in Africa, dodges questions on vulgarity and trolling

There’s the tight smile Tillerson wears when asked about insulting remarks by President Donald Trump that have angered or bewildered entire continents.

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