However, Labour leader Andrew Little was more than happy to wade in, saying Trump's tweets about London Mayor Sadiq Khan in the aftermath of the London Bridge terror attacks were "ham-fisted and clumsy".
"That can be said about many of Donald Trump's tweets."
Trump might have got an amnesty from English on Twitter, but there was no invitation for him to visit in the diplomatic bag returning with Tillerson - English said it was too close to the election.
Nor were Wellingtonians as diplomatic as English, by the reports of US media.
Although the motorcade carrying Tillerson and his entourage did not feature the usual bonnet flags used for international VIP visits, perhaps its size gave it away - it was greeted with one-finger salutes and the thumbs down.
A longstanding White House reporter said in all the motorcades he'd been in he'd never seen as many people flip the bird at a motorcade as on the route from the airport to Premier House.
