Newly appointed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson addressed State Department employees for the first time on Thursday, making an opening quip which captured the unease felt by many in the wake of President Donald Trump’s election.
“We apologize for being late,” Tillerson said as he began his address. “It seemed that this year’s prayer breakfast people felt the need to pray a little longer.”
Tillerson had just come from the National Prayer Breakfast, an annual bipartisan event, where Donald Trump called on the group to pray for better ratings for his former reality show ‘The Celebrity Apprentice’.
Tillerson’s joke was met with enthusiastic laughter by his State Department employees.
On social media, people expressed their appreciation for the former ExxonMobil CEO’s sense of humor.
Others couldn’t resist suggesting Tillerson’s own appointment was reason enough for extra prayer.