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Article snippet: WASHINGTON — When Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson traveled to Saudi Arabia with President Trump last spring, he impressed hosts and visitors alike by swaying along with the traditional men’s dancers swathed in white robes and brandishing swords. “Not my first sword dance,” Mr. Tillerson deadpanned afterward. Indeed, the calculation behind Mr. Tillerson’s appointment was that he could parlay decades of experience as an oil executive brokering deals in the Middle East and elsewhere into success in the nation’s top diplomatic post. But as Mr. Tillerson has discovered, the most important target of any secretary of state’s diplomacy is the president he serves. Now the man brandishing the sword is Mr. Trump, who holds it over Mr. Tillerson’s neck, poised to swing at any moment. The relationship between the two men has grown so acidic that Mr. Tillerson felt compelled to call an extraordinary news conference on Wednesday to deny that he was thinking of resigning — a move that paradoxically only increased speculation that he might in fact resign, of his own free will or not. Even if he stays, Mr. Tillerson is now a wounded figure, his credibility at home and abroad diminished by the perception that he does not have a close alignment with the president. Foreign leaders and diplomats may doubt that he truly represents the administration or that his assurances will stick. A countdown clock has been set, ticking away toward what many assume is the inevitable departure. “... Link to the full article to read more